A Tragic Turn
by DAnNSfreak
Summary: Nick and Sara are married with twins, but what happens when a nasty criminal comes back, with a vengence? Crossover, read to find out with what.
1. Default Chapter

Disclaimer: Nothing belongs to me. Wish I own a couple of them though. (smirks)  
  
Note: Well, here it is. PRTF and CSI crossover. I really hope the respective fans of each show doesn't mind me adding them together, cos' I'm just psycho over both shows! I really, really hope you enjoy this. Oh, and to white time ranger and everyone else who answered to my dilema post, thanks a million!  
  
Background: Nick and Sara are married. Hehe, I wouldn't have it any other way! Wes and Jen are dating. Like in Werewolf Unleashed, Wes is one of the crimminalists, and Jen is a homicide detective, under Capt. Brass. Hows that? Oh, and I'm stating that Wes' mom was from England. So Wes is quite like a half- and-half.Lastly, the team don't work graveyard shift, unlike the original CSI. Day shift for all!  
  
A Tragic Turn  
  
Prologue  
  
Sara Sidle woke up with the sun shining in her face, and the loud snoring coming from her husband, Nick Stokes. He had one arm wrapped protectively around her waist.  
  
With a smirk, Sara sighed contentedly. The morning had just begun. Birds chirping, leaves flying in every directionmarking the beginning of fall, the freash air entering the room, it was pure bliss, until......  
  
"WAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!"  
  
A loud wail pierced through the silent air. Soon, another loud wail joined the first one, "MOMMY! DADDY!!!"  
  
Nick jerked awake. After realising where the noise was coming from, he sighed.  
  
Sara smirked at him and said,"Your turn, I did it the last time," in a chirpy voice.  
  
Nick sighed again and shuffled out of the room, amidst the two loud wails.  
  
After two or three more minutes, the wailing died down. Nick had his way of calming down the youngsters.  
  
Nick and Sara had been married for 7 months before they had been blessed with a miracle, two, actually. Michael and Emily Stokes were both three years old, coming on four.  
  
The twins don't usually wake up this early crying. However, whenever one starts, the other follows suit. They are definately not morning people, just like their father.  
  
Sara got up and dressed for work. Both she and Nick work at the Las Vegas Crime Lab, forensics.  
  
Everyday's the same routine, drop the kids off at the daycare centre, got to work, Nick's mother fetches the kids back to her home, and Nick picks them up after work. Sometimes Nick and Sara have to work overtime on a case. That's when their younger colleague, Wes Collins takes over. Emily and Michael just adore him and thinks of Wes as an uncle.  
  
Sara knew very well that Wes would make great dad one day. He is alreadygoing steady with Jen Scotts, a detective in Captain Jim Brass' office.  
  
Puzzled by Nick's long disappearence, Sara walked into the twins room. she saw Nick playing with them on the bed. Looks like Emily and Michael have gotten Nick stuck in a wrestling hold.  
  
'Amazing,' thought Sara, 'How two three-year-olds have a grown man wrapped around their little fingers,'  
  
Michael just noticed Sara standing at the doorway and said,"Hi mom! We're trying to get dad to promise to take us to Mc'Donalds later!"  
  
Emily turned over and grinned a toothless grin. Mick finally yelled,"OK!OK! Time out, I give! We'll go to Mc' Donalds after work. Go get ready,"  
  
The twins laughed with delight and Michael jumped off the bed, closly followed by Emily, "Right dad!" they said together.  
  
When they left the room, Nick got up and gave Sara a quick peck on her cheek. Sara smiled and said,"Can you belive how fast they grow? In no time, they are going to leave us.."  
  
Nick wrapped his arms around her and said,"I guess you're right, but they are here with us now, so lets make the best of it,"  
  
Sara nodded and sank wearily into Nick's strong chest.  
  
Soon, the entire Stokes family were outside the house, getting ready to leave the house. They were all happy, content.  
  
Little do they know, this week is a week to remember........  
  
TBC  
  
How was that? Horrible, I know, hehe. PRTF readers, forgive me for so little reference with Wes and Jen, there will be more about them upcoming chapter. Please leave a review to let e know what you think! 


	2. When Things Get Nasty

Disclaimer: No characters in this story belong to me, except for the unfamiliar ones.  
  
Note: Well, remember the criminal mentioned in the summary? He was caught for raping and killing. And Sara was the last victim before the guy was apprehended a year ago.  
  
Chapter 1: When Things Get Nasty  
  
Nick and Sara entered the conference room. Their supervisor, Gil Grissom hadn't arrived yet, but everybody else had. Each one was preoccupied with something or other.  
  
Wes was sitting in his usual place,pencil in hand, solving a crossword puzzle. The lab technician, Greg Sanders, was flipping through a bridal magazine with a facinated look on his face.  
  
Catherine Willows, however, was reading a thick novel and Warrick Brown was standing by the mini refridgerator, drinking coffee and staring around with a concentrating look on his face.  
  
Catherine looked up when she heard the couple entering and said,"Hi guys!"  
  
The other's looked up as well except Wes, who muttered,"Hi," without looking up from his puzzle.  
  
Sara looked at Greg and asked,"Getting married?"  
  
Greg scowled at her and said,"Har, har. I bet you never realised that these models are much better looking than the bikini ones? I mean, look at their complexion!!" he held up the magazine as if to emphazize the point.  
  
Catherine grinned and said,"You should give that to Wes, he can use it to get a vague idea how Jen will look like in a wedding gown! That'll give you the confidence to propose to her, right Wes?"  
  
Wes finally tore his eyes away from the puzzle and with a clueless look on his face, he asked,"Say what?" with his usual distinct British drawl.  
  
Warrick chuckled. Apparently the younger CSI hadn't heard a single word they said, or even bothered.  
  
Nick said,"You have to lay off the puzzles, you're starting to be like Grissom,"  
  
"Ignorant to the social world, that's him," quipped Warrick.  
  
Catherine glanced at the door and said,"Speak of the devil...."  
  
Gil Grissom walked into the room carrying the usual file of assignments.  
  
He pulled out a couple of papers from the file and said,"Ok people, social hour over. We have two female dead bodies today, Helen Gibson and Rhonda Stevens. Wes, Sara, Warrick, take Gibson, a blind alley behind The Luxor,"  
  
"Sheesh, did the murderers make pacts to kill in the same spot? That's the sixth blind alley body in a week," commented Warrick.  
  
Grissom ignored the comment and continued,"Nick, Catherine and I, Stevens, abandoned house, Henchman Road. Greg, lab,"  
  
Greg sighed and asked,"When will I ever be able to go in the field?"  
  
After a moment's silence, it became clear that Grissom wasn't about to answer that either, so Greg walked out of the room.  
  
Wes let out a sarcastic,"Yippie...." and snatched the assignment paper from Grissom.  
  
Grissom said,"Detective Jen Scotts will be on the same case as you...."  
  
Wes suddenly grinned and said,"My day just got brighter!"  
  
Sara entered the research room to see Wes already there, processing DNA found at the crime scene earlier.  
  
She had just finished processing fingerprints while Wes went to the morgue.  
  
Wes looked up and said,"Oh hey, just got a report from Doc, um, the victim, Helen Gibson, she was raped before killed. Doc. Robbins did a test, and found some semen, and there were signs of struggle. However, I ran the semen DNA through AFIS, nothing came up,"  
  
Sara felt her heart leap. She appreciated the fact that Wes was being careful with his words, but the old nightmare was creeping back. That horrible day where everything went wrong.  
  
Sara tried to keep a calm face while nodding. Wes looked at Sara, his face masked with concern, then he said,"Sara, if you don't want to handle this case, I will more than understand,"  
  
Sara shook her head and said,"It's ok, Wes, it's been a long time, I can do this,"  
  
Suddenly, Catherine came in and said,"Hey, my case was a rape, kill and run, what's you.... Sara!" she suddenly gasped.  
  
After an awkward silence, Catherine cleared her throat and mumbled,"Sorry..."  
  
Sara shook her head and said,"It's ok, Cath. Don't worry about it,"  
  
Greg came in and said,"Hey guys, Doc. Robbins just finished writing the report for Helen Gibson. He wants one of you to go over to the morgue,"  
  
Wes looked up and said,"Oh, I'm kind of busy at the moment," while glancing at the DNA samples in front of him.  
  
Sara said,"It's ok, I'll go," she turned to leave when Gil came in and said sternly, "Sara, I want you off this case,"  
  
Sara stared at her supervisor and said,"What?!"  
  
Gil replied,"You heard me, this case will have too much of a personal effect on you..."  
  
Sara shook her head and said,"I don't care Grissom, I'm over the incident, it happened a year ago,"  
  
Grissom frowned and said,"I'm worried of your own safety, and you might compromise the case. Sara, please,"  
  
Sara felt extreamly annoyed that Grissom was treating her like a child. She said loudly," I don't care Grissom. I can do whatever I want, whenever I WANT!" and she stormed out of the room, leaving everyone else in stunned silence.  
  
Greg let out a low whistle. Grissom shook his head and walked out of the room. Wes raised his eyebrows and said,"I guess I'll be getting that report then," and went back to his work.  
  
The rest of the squad glanced around and got out as well. This is going to be a long day.  
  
TBC  
  
Ok guys, Jen's coming out real soon. Hope you enjoyed this. Leave a review! 


	3. Past Haunts

Disclamer: Once again, nothing belongs to me.  
  
Note: Sorry for taking so long on this one! Yeehaw! School exams over, Let's party by reading a new chapter!! hehe... hope you enjoy this one!  
  
Chapter 2: Past Haunts  
  
Detective Jen Scotts walked down the blue halls of the crime lab. Upon reaching a certain lab, she went in.  
  
Inside, her boyfriend Wes dressed in dark trousers, long-sleeved blue shirt under the Crime Lab's official blue lab coat. He was bent over the microscope, probably processing some evidence.  
  
'Oh, why do I have to be such a sucker for a cute guy in a lab coat?' thought Jen mischeviously.  
  
Jen tapped him on his shoulder and he jumped.  
  
He turned around and exclaimed,"JEN!"  
  
Jen raised an eyebrow and said,"Jumpy?"  
  
Wes narrowed his eyes in protest. He was about to say something when Jen cut him off with a kiss. Caught by surprise, Wes did not return the passion until Jen wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled his head closer.  
  
Jen could feel Wes grin under the passionate kiss.  
  
Suddenly Catherine's voice was heard,"Oh guys, get a room!" sounding exasperated.  
  
The couple pulled apart. Looks like Greg was there too and his face was split in a grin. For a moment Jen thought they could get pass the irritating lab tech without any annoying comments.  
  
However, Greg started chanting mockingly,"Jen and Wes, sitting in a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g!"  
  
Catherine grinned while the other two blushed crimson. Greg continued,"First comes love, than comes marriage, than comes baby in a baby-carriage!!! HAHAHAHA!!!!!"  
  
It was hard to tell who's face was a deeper crimson. Wes muttered,"Git,"  
  
Cath said,"Don't balme me! Just came to use the computer!"  
  
Greg, recognising the look in Jen's eyes, said,"Hehe.. um, I have this something I gotta do...." as he slipped out of the lab.  
  
Jen shook her head and suddenly remembered what she came in for, besides having a little nibble on Wes...  
  
"Hey, I managed to get an eyewitness. She should be in the interogation room right now," she said.  
  
Wes grinned sheepishly and nodded.  
  
Jen asked,"Shall I go get Sara?"  
  
Wes hesitated then said,"I don't think so. It's better not to approch her when she is ion one of her moods....I'll fill her in later,"  
  
Cath said,"Talking to Sara after she yells at Grissom is like asking for a death sentence...."  
  
Jen frowned, not understanding a word they said, but she didn't bother to ask.  
  
Later in the interogation room:  
  
"So, you're working as a janitor in the Luxor? Helen Gibson was found it the back ally," stated Wes.  
  
The middle-aged woman with brown hair with wisps of grey nodded,"Shirly Rosenburg is the name. I was taking out the trash when I sawa man pinning down a female, strangling her,"  
  
Wes raised an eyebrow as he said,"You saw someone attacking a girl. Right after that, you didn't bother to tell anyone or call the police?"  
  
Shirly turned a deep shade of red and muttered,"I didn't want to lose my job. Things happened so fast that I thought I was hallucinating.... until now," Wes and Jen exchanged glances.  
  
Then, Jen asked,"So, you did see who it was who attacked Helen Gibson?"  
  
Shirly shrugged and said,"I didn't see his face, he wore a mask. Also, a hat, a long black coat. Well, his entire body was dressed in black,"  
  
Wes suddenly sat straight up. Jen asked,"What?"  
  
Wes shook his head and said, addressing Shirly,"What about the mask?"  
  
Shirly replied,"Black, with strips of yellow here and there....creepiest mask I ever saw,"  
  
Wes looked absolutely shocked. He said a hurried,"Thank you," and went out of the room. Jen followed him and asked,"Wes! Wait up! What's happening?"  
  
Wes turned into Grissom's office while muttering,"Hang on, I'll fill you in, in a second,"  
  
Grissom, who was flicking through a case file looked up and Wes said,"Gris, bad news. We have an eyewitness who saw the murder of Helen Gibson, and guess what? The description fits Brian Mc Cormick exactly."  
  
Grissom's eyes widen and he immediately picked up the phone and started dialing.  
  
Jen asked,"Wes, what?..." Wes looked at her gravely and said,"It happened before you joined the crime lab, about a year back. Sara... was raped,"  
  
Jen gasped,"Yup, by a guy named Brian Mc Cormick. He wore the exact mask that Shirly described," continued Wes.  
  
Jen said,"You don't think he is still out there?"  
  
Wes shook his head,"Not likely, we got him, during Sara's attack. Nick got to him just in time. Sara was lucky, Brian usually killed his victims. He's been in jail since then, no parol, nothing, or maybe he escaped,"  
  
Right on cue, Grissom suddenly said,'Hello, Las Vegas State Jail?Yes, this is Gil Grissom from the Crime Lab. I need you to check something for me. Alright, Mc Cormick, Brian. Convicted of murder and rape of several victims a year ago. Ok, I'll hold on,"  
  
He looked up and said,"Detective, I need you to tell Sara, under no circumstances is she to stay on this case. It is just too dangerous,"  
  
Jen nodded and walked out of the room.  
  
"Yes, Brian Mc Cormick. He is still in jail? Alright, arrange an 'appointment' with him. I'll send a couple of my people ove," said Grissom while glancing at Wes.  
  
Wes sighed, knowing that one of these 'people' was probably him.  
  
Grissom hung up and Wes asked,"Gris, do you think that someone is just copying Brian Mc Cormick's stlye or...." "..or Brian Mc Cormick has an accomplice somewhere out there," continued Grissom.  
  
Wes frowned and said,"I wouldn't put anything past Mc Cormick. I reckon he found a way to get an accomplice,"  
  
Gil removed his reading glasses and said,"Assume nothing Wes, assume nothing..."  
  
TBC  
  
Phew, another chapter finished, plenty more to go! Leave a review! 


	4. The Prisoner's Wrath

Disclaimer:Nothing belongs to me, never have and never will.  
  
Equestrian-babe101, PRTF stands for Power Rangers Time Force. However, there are only two characters (Wes and Jen) sure, I could do without them in the story but HECK NO!!Those two are my favourite actors/actresses, (like George Eads, heh heh) and I cannot BEAR not to have them in this. Wes/Jen, Nick/Sara FOREVER!!!  
  
Ahem, anyway......  
  
Chapter 3: The Prisoner's Wrath  
  
"So, tell me again why we have to talk to that damn guy who has no respect left for ladies?" Warrick asked. Dressed in blue jeans, black shirt, black jacket, Wes is under the impression that Warrick wanted to look extra threatening.  
  
While zipping up the front of his blue windbreaker, Wes replied,"To find out whether it is him who wants to make a come back or someone else is just copycatting his ideas,"  
  
Warrick raised an eyebrow and asked,"There's such thing as 'copycatting'?"  
  
Wes' lips twitched and he replied,"Who cares? It still makes sense,"  
  
Warrick chuckled. The two guys just arrived at the state jail and were heading for the security desk.  
  
Warrick walked up to the officer in charge. While showing his police I.D, he said,"Hi, we're from the Crime Lab, sent to meet Brian Mc Cormick, where can we...?"  
  
The officer grunted and said,"Yeah, this way," as he got up from behind the desk and beckoned Wes and warrick to follow him.  
  
"Brian Mc Cormick, yeah, I remember that guy, been here for a year already. No parole, heck, he is lucky that he escaped the death sentence. Had a rough time with him at the beginning. Nasty temper. But he is getting better," said the officer as he led them down a long corridor.  
  
"Oh, where are my manners? The name's Ricks, Andy Ricks," he added.  
  
Wes nodded and sad,"This is Warrick Brown and I'm Wes Collins. You said Mc Cormick is getting better? How so?"  
  
Officer Ricks shrugged and said,"Well, when he first came in, like I said, he was all violent and stuff like that. Now he is better, friendly even. Seemed ready to make amends. Attending church service now, you can go check out his daily activities if you like..." Officer Ricks offered.  
  
Warrick muttered to Wes,"A leopard never changes its spots..." Wes nodded.  
  
"So, er, what's he in for anyway? Why the visit?" asked Ricks curiously. Choosing to ignore the question, Warrick said,"You say we can check out his daiy activities, we might just do that,"  
  
Turning to Wes, he asked,"Divide and conquer?" Wes nodded and muttered,"I've got dibs on the interrogation,"  
  
Officer Ricks said,"I'll arrange for another officer to take you around," nodding at Warrick. With that, another uniformed officer stepped up.  
  
This guy looked quite young. He was wearing a pair of highly polished shopes and had a short crew cut. He had on a very smug expression that just screamed 'law- enforcement'.  
  
"I'm Officer Letting, this way please," indicating the opposite side of the hall. With that, the two criminalists parted ways.  
  
Warrick was led past a room where some activity seemed to be going on. An old man, clearly a pastor, was talking to a group of convicts, all in orange jumpsuits.  
  
"That's where Brian usually attends church service," said Office Letting with a knowing look.  
  
They soon passed by another room where a few convicts were either reading books or newpapers, or writing on pieces of paper. Officer Letting said,"Mc Cormick comes here as well, usually, when prisoners are reaching their parole time or changing for the better, we allow them to spend time in this room, reading or sending letters to their family members. Once a week, an hour or two,"  
  
Warrick frowned and asked,"Mc Cormicks allowed to communicate to the outside world?"  
  
The officer merely nodded. warrick asked,"So he does send letters out?"  
  
Officer Letting nodded again and said,"Practically every week. We don't know to whom, our supervisor prefers that we respect their privacy, not that they are doing any thing dangerous that is," while laughing nervously.  
  
"Do you think I can read those letters from Brian Mc Cormick?" asked Warrick.  
  
"Certainly.... if, you have a warrant. I respect their need for privacy, yes, even if they used to be criminals. No warrant, no letters," was the reply.  
  
Warrick sighed. It was all he could do to stop himself from wringing the guys neck.'Why do they always have to be so cocky and difficult?' he thought,'wes had better be getting more information than me.'  
  
Wes was sitting in the jail's interrogation room. No need for an expert to say that this room is very old. Chipped bits on the walls, the chairs creaking once in a while, the one way mirror had a few scratches all over it, not to mention the room is really boiling hot.  
  
Suddenly, the door opened and officer Ricks walked in, leading a guy whose face Wes knew too well. Average height, squared jaw, cocky expression, unshaven... 'Same as always,' thought Wes as he narrowed his eyes.  
  
Officer Ricks pushed Mc Cormick into the chair opposite Wes and said,"I'll leave you two to chat," with that, he went out and shut the door with a click.  
  
Another officer was standing guard beside the door. Brian Mc Cormick chuckled and said, "You know, its his daughter's birthday today. He bought her a colouring book, I saw one on his desk earlier. Since it's a colouring book, that means his daughter is about 4 to 5 years old,"  
  
Wes raised his eyebrows, amazed. "Oh, and that guy outside?" he continued, pointing to an officer who just walked past the room,"Bad mood, his girl just dumped him. you can tell by the way he looks. Stern, stubborn,"  
  
Wes said,"You sure know a lot about the guys in here. Nothing better to do?"  
  
Brian smirked,"Something like that. Anyway, what brings you here today? Humm, let me see," he paused for a moment then snapped his fingers,"Ah! Wes Collinns isn't it? I remember you CSI 3. The half- breed!"  
  
'This guy is creeping me out,' thought Wes while he frowned and asked,"Half-breed?"  
  
Brian said,"Of course! You're half British aren't you? I can tell from the accent, your dad British?"  
  
Wes muttered,"Mum," while thinking,'Pity he didn't use such good brains for good purposes. What a waste,' "Anyway," Wes continued,"Someone is copying your moves, Brian. I want to know if you have anything to do with it," while pulling out pictures of Helen Gibson's autopsy.  
  
Brian picked up the photos and chuckle again. 'If he laughs one more time...' Wes thought irritatedly.  
  
"And what makes you think I have anything to do with it?" asked Brian.  
  
Wes replied,"We have eyewitnesses who saw the killer. He was dressed in the exact clothing you used to wear. Including the yellow and black mask."  
  
Brian grinned,"Well, nice to know someone is following in my footsteps, haha, I'm just kidding Collins. I realized my mistakes, my sins, I want to change for the better,"  
  
Wes raised his eyebrows coolly and said,"What make you think that I will believe you?"  
  
Brian smiled mischeviously and said, "Look at me," pointing to himself,"I'm in jail! I can't do anything and I can't get out!"  
  
Wes replied,"Maybe so, but how do you reckon that will stop a smart guy like you from causing a murder?"  
  
Brian scowled for the first time since the interrogation. After a short pause, he replied smoothly,"Prove it,"  
  
Wes smiled while he got up and said,"Working on it."  
  
Brian Mc Cormick was pushed back into his cell roughly. "Get goin'!" shouted the guard.  
  
"Ok! I'm going, I'm going!" replied Brian with the same force. The guard shut the cell door and locked it with a single turn of the key. He pocketed the key and disappeared down the corridor.  
  
Brian walked towards the small window and announced,"So, the police are on to me, well, don't worry girls, it'll be your turn soon. Hahahahahahahahahahaha...."  
  
"You've got to be kidding," Wes muttered in disbelief.  
  
Warrick shook his head and added numbly,"Nope,"  
  
"You're telling me he has access to the outside world right now and we can't do anything about it??!!" It's jail for goodness sake, 'respect their privacy'? They aren't saints!!" wes was frantic now.  
  
Warrick said,"Yeah, I called the detectives, Brass, Vega, Jen, O'Riley, they all say that no judge will issue a warrant to get the letters he is writing. It seems that we have no proof whatsoever that Brian Mc Cormick is out to get more victims. Come to think of it, how can we be sure? What if he is innocent?"  
  
Wes, still not about to let the jail's security system go, said,"It's JAIL!! How can they allow so much freedom to ex-criminals??!!!"  
  
Warrick could'nt answer that. He merely shook his head glumly.  
  
Wes put his hand to his forehead, making his fringe messier than usual and mumbled,"We're screwed..."  
  
TBC 


	5. Don't Make Him Mad

Disclaimer: CSI and PRTF characters don't belong to me. Why? Why?? heh heh.  
  
Notes: Thanks for the reviews guys! It won't hurt to remember the fact that Brian Mc Cormick has a terible and fast temper!  
  
Chapter 4:Don't Make Him Mad  
  
It was raining while Wes and Warrick made their way back to the lab. After parking their Tahoe, they raced back into the lab. However, they were still soaked to skin anyway.  
  
"It never rains in Vegas, it pours!" grumbled Wes as they entered.  
  
Warrick sighed in agreement and said,"Let's go find Grissom."  
  
After drying up, they walked into Grissom's office. The numerous jars of all kinds of insects and even pig fetuses that had been stacked on Grissom's shelve ever since Wes had been employed never failed to spook Wes out a little.  
  
Grissom and Catherine were inside, talking about their current case. Warrick said,"Hi, wanna hear about our day at jail?"  
  
Grissom looked at him like a lion anticipating his prey, the same look eveytime he uncovers new evidence and said,"Go right ahead,"  
  
Wes edged away from the jars containing things only Grissom could appreciate and leaned against Grissom's desk while Warrick retold the story.  
  
Unbeknownst to them, Sara was about to walk into the room. However, she stopped when she heard Warrick say,"Brian Mc Cormick is allowed to send letters to the outside world,"  
  
Sara backed against the door frame, listening in.  
  
"And he isn't about to admit anything," muttered Wes.  
  
Grissom nodded gravely and said,"Without any evidence, we won't have anything against him,"  
  
Catherine chipped in,"He is the only suspect we have. Whoever is doing this is doing it good, no hair, no fiber, no prints, nothing. Who knows when he will strike next?"  
  
Wes said quietely, "Not to mention, who?"  
  
Sara moved away from her hiding place and headed for the locker room. Luckily, no one saw her. 'I can't just sit around and do nothing,' she thought, 'Time to pay Brian Mc Cormick a visit.'  
  
Soon, Sara arrived at the State Jail. "Hi, I'll like to see Brian Mc Cormick please," she told the guard at the front desk.  
  
The officer, looking extreamly young, probably freash out of the academy raised an eyebrow and asked,"And you are?"  
  
Sara sighed and reached for her police badge. A look of realization dawned upon the officer's face. "Ahh, right this way," he said getting up.  
  
He brought Sara to the meeting room where visitors are able to communicate with the prisoners. After Sara got seated, the officer went off to get brian Mc Cormick.  
  
However, Sara held him back and whispered,"Oh, you didn't see me ok?"  
  
The office, whose badge read 'Maciver', raised his eyebrows again, then nodded.  
  
Soon the police officer returned from the opposite side of the glass that saperated prisoners from visitors.  
  
With him, was Brian Mc Cormick. Sara felt a deep sinking feeling inside. She shook her head a little, as though to shake off the feeling. Instead, she willed herself to replace it with dead calm. She planned to get the truth out of him.  
  
"Sara Sidle, what a pleasure to see you again," he said merrily.  
  
Sara scowled and said,"I want to know what you are doing, Brian. How are you killing all those girls?"  
  
Brian sighed,"Here we go again. I'm in jail! I'm having enough problems as it is without you damn police blaming me for something I didn't do!"  
  
'That's it, I am so onto you...' thought Sara. Grissom always said never to follow what her gut says, but follow what the evidence says. But this time, she knew for sure that Mc Cormick is behind the murders.  
  
"You have something to do with this, I know you have. And guess what? I am going to watch your every move, until I find some evidence against you,"  
  
Mc Cormick paused for a moment, frowning. Sara thought that she had gotten to him, until he said,"You know Sara, I haven't finished with you yet. You wouldn't be here pestering me today if your dear Nick Stokes hadn't interupted me. Just you wait," getting up from his chair to look more menacing.  
  
"Some way or another, I will finish the job with you. No, wait. Why should I make you suffer, when I can make those close to you suffer? Ha, how's that?" an officer grabbed him from behind to keep Mc Cormick down.  
  
Then the officer said,"Sorry miss, visiting time's over, he is getting agitated,"  
  
Sara nodded and turned away, as she did so, she felt a chilly feeling run down her spine. Was it just words, or was Mc Cormick really going to carry out his threat?  
  
TBC  
  
Ok, ok, short and boring, I know. But next chapter will be better. This chapter is to get the facts straight here and there. More action coming up! Leave a review, how are you liking it? Worth your read? Let me know! 


	6. Strike One

Disclaimer:Nothing CSI/PRTF related belongs to me, never have, never will.  
  
Note: Nick's family belongs to me. I am not bothering to follow the original five sisters, one brother thing,it just doesn't fit with the story, so I made this one up! hehe. Oh,and the CSI squad knows about Wes and Jen being rangers. I might write a little story on how they found out later...if I can think of an idea that is...(blush)  
  
Chapter 5: Strike One  
  
"Mm, mm, that meal was simply wizard, Mrs Stokes!" said Wes. The crimminalists, including Jen, except for Gil and Catherine always go over to Mrs Stokes, Nick's mom's place on a monthly basis to have dinner.  
  
In her mid-sixties, Mrs Stokes is a widow living with Nick's younger siblings, Erin and Chad.  
  
Nick smirked and said,"Translation, 'dinner was awesome!' ma,"  
  
Mrs Stokes smiled and said,"Well, it's the least I can do to thank the officers protecting justice! And I understood what Wes said Nicky, I may be Texan, but I understand British slang you know,"  
  
Wes grinned and said,"The lady speaks the truth!"  
  
Nick rolled his eyes. Sara asked,"Where are the others, mom?" referring to Nick's five other siblings.  
  
"Oh, Ned said he has some work to take care of at the factory. Matthew and Nicole are out with their spouses. Chad has an appointment with a client and Erin's (A/N: Not Erin Cahill! Hehe!) out on a date,"  
  
Warrick asked,"Date?" The others grinned, they knew that Warrick had taken a liking towards the youngest Stokes sibling.  
  
"Mommy, we're done, can we go?" asked Michael, tugging on his mother's sleeve. Sara nodded with a smile.  
  
Michael and Emily jumped off their chairs and said,"Uncle Wes, come on!!" pulling at his arm.  
  
Jen grinned and said,"Nice to know you have a fan club,"  
  
Ignoring Jen's comment, Wes mumbled,"So soon?" to the twins with his mouth semi-full of mashed potatoes.  
  
Sara said,"Guys, let Uncle Wes finish his food first,"  
  
Jen chipped in,"Yeah! He'll play more 'ride the horsey' with you later!"  
  
Wes' eyes widen and said,"JEN!! Whose side are you on?!" while the twins yelled,"Yay!!" as they ran out of the room.  
  
Wes mumbled,"Do you realise how heavy they are getting? My back can't take it anymore..."  
  
Everyone laughed. Soon, after dinner, Mrs Stokes announced,"Alright, I cooked, you clean,"  
  
Nick said,"Sounds fair enough," Warrick volunteered,"We'll help as well." and everyone set off to do their respective chores.  
  
Mrs Stokes went out into the backyard to hang out the laundry. It was a warm night. There, she heard the clanking of plates and other cutlery.  
  
She smiled a little, thinking how lucky she is to have six sucessful children and four great in-laws. Erin and Chad are yet to have specific otheres but they were happy all the same.  
  
'You would have been proud, Harold,' she thought, reffering to her late husband.  
  
Suddenly, she heard a soft rustling in the bushed behind her. She twisted around but there was nothing. She frowned in puzzlement.  
  
She made to turn back to the clothesline when someone grabbed her from behind and pushed her roughly around.  
  
Then she saw a man, clad in black all over except for a yellow and black mask he wore over his face.  
  
Too frightened to scream, Mrs Stokes could do nothing except stare back at the man in horror. She recognized him, he was the one who was always in the news a year back for murdering.  
  
Nick and Sara had talked about him plenty of times, Brian Mc Cormick.  
  
'It can't be, he is in jail!' she thought desparately. The man walked towards her, he put his two gloved hands on her neck, pressing hard against her windpipe, cutting off her air supply.  
  
Gathering her courage, she let out a high-pitched scream...  
  
"What was that?" asked Warrick, his head snapping up. Wes frowned,"I dunno, reckon it's coming from the backyard..." as he looked up from the boardgame he was palying with the twins.  
  
Nick's eyes widen in shock as he said,"Mom!"  
  
"Come on!" yelled Jen.  
  
They rushed into the backyard, just in time to see Mrs Stokes been pinned down by a man dressed in black. The man turned, revealing the same mask and hat Brian Mc Cormick used to wear.  
  
Caught by surprise, the man leapt over the fence, running as fast as he could.  
  
Jen nodded at Wes, and they said,"Time for, Time Force!" morphing into the red and pink Time Force Rangers. They leapt over the fence as well, chasing the guy.  
  
Meanwhile, the others rushed over to Mrs Stokes to make sure she is alright. "Mom! Are you OK?" asked Nick frantically as the twins watched on in horror. Mrs Stokes nodded, while desparately gasping for air.  
  
Wes and Jen wer hot on the amsked man's trail. Suddenly, the man stopped and turned around. He threw something round in the rangers direction.  
  
"What the??" mutterd Jen before a gigantic cloud of smoke surrounded them, making it impposible to see.  
  
Wes let out a frusrated "Damn!" When the smoke finally cleared, the man was no longer in sight.  
  
Searching everywhere, the two returned to the Stokes home, empty-handed. Mrs Stokes had alrady recoverd, but there were a few bruises around her neck.  
  
Jen said,"He's gone. Mrs Stokes, are you ok?"  
  
Mrs Stokes nodded,"I'm fine Jen. Phew, that was the scariest experience in my life!"  
  
Sara had been silent for some time. She was feeling extreamly scared. Was Brian Mc Cormick carrying out his threat, right now?  
  
Wes frowed and said,"This guy is changing his pattern. He never strangled his past victims, he stabbed them. Not to mention the raping. Why the sudden change?"  
  
Sara was the only one who didn't bother to ponder that question because she had a pretty good idea why the pattern changed...  
  
TBC 


	7. Strike Two

Disclaimer: Anything CSI or PRTF related don't belong to me.  
  
Chapter 6: Strike Two  
  
A week after Mrs Stokes' attack, things started to get normal again, except for the fact that the guy responsible for the two female killings still remained elusive. Sara was beginning to think that Mrs Stokes' attack was just a coincidence.  
  
She was about to head off to the lab when Nick appeared at the break room's door. "Sara, we gotta pull some time off. Erin was attacked,"  
  
Sara said in disbelief,"What?!"  
  
Nick muttered in a worried tone,"She was attacked on her way to work. The guy punched her really hard,"  
  
"Punched?"  
  
"Punched, kicked, the works."  
  
"Did she recognize who attacked her?"asked Sara.  
  
Nick replied,"Oh, yeah... Guess who? Our good ol' pal, Brian Mc Cormick's accomplice. Erin's lucky all she received were punches,"  
  
Sara felt a sick feeling in her gut for the upteenth time this week. "Erin's in the Desert Palm Hospital. I got permission from Grissom," continued Nick.  
  
"Ma, I'm fine!!" said Erin exasperately with a Texan drawl very like Nick's. Her mother frowned thoughtfully, taking in Erin's terribly bruised face.  
  
"Well, just please lie down! You need plenty of rest," said Mrs Stokes.  
  
"I am resting! What have I been doing all this time??" contradicted Erin.  
  
Wes was also there. He had just been assigned to take care of Erin's case. "Listen to mom, Erin," muttered Nick lightly.  
  
"You need to tell me what happened," said Wes.  
  
"Us too," said Nick.  
  
Wes shot a glance at Nick but didn't say aynthing. Nick knew that Grissom had told Wes that he didn't want Nick and Sara to get too involved with this case.  
  
Erin sighed and said,"I was walking to my car, on the wy to work. That's when this weird guy who had been on the news for a long time grabbed me from behind. I freaked. He led me into an alleyway where he started pounding me. I screamed," she paused to take a breath, the rush of bad memories coming back.  
  
"So this old guy came along from behind. He must have heard my screaming,"  
  
"Who wouldn't?" added Nick sarcasticaly.  
  
Erin shot him a 'sibling rivals' look and continued,"The old guy chased the masked man away and took me to the hospital, so there ya' go,"  
  
Wes nodded while saying,"Thanks Erin," and he added to Nick and Sara,"I'll meet you outside,"  
  
Then he headed out of the room. Nick and Sara stayed for a few more minutes before going out to join Wes.  
  
Wes was facing one of the walls with his back to them, but they could see he was holding something small and shiny.  
  
Nick tapped him on the shoulder and asked,"Hey, what's that?"  
  
Wes jumped a little and turned around, quickly hiding whatever he was staring at behind his back. A small, low 'click' resembling a heavy lid being closed came from behind Wes as he said,"Oy! Don't scare me like that!"  
  
Nick raised his plams in surrender and grinned,"Sorry!"  
  
Wes shoved his hand hiding whatever he was holding into his pocket and said, as if to change the subject,"Here we go again, his ways of attacking are damn different, serial killers don't do that, hitmans do. He is planning to kill Erin, if a guy didn't show up to help her," while pulling out his hand again, this time, he wasn't holding anythiong.  
  
However, Nick didn't bother to ask Wes about it again. Instead, he said,"This is bad, why is he hitting my family members?"  
  
Sara gulped but the two guys didn't seem to hear her.  
  
Wes sighed, "We better get a new lead on this. Next time, someone could get killed..."  
  
TBC  
  
Yeah, very short and stupid, I know, but bear with me. Next chapter will be better, promise! I'll be revealing what Wes has been hiding, but you guys probably know right? 


	8. Strike Three, You're Out

Disclaimer: Nothin PRTF and CSI belong to me.  
  
You wanna know what Wes is hiding? I'll show you what he is hiding! After these two verses, muahahahahaha!!!!! Ahem, anyway...  
  
Chapter 7: Strike Three, You're Out  
  
"No, no, where is it?" he muttered softly while flicking through the pages of that day's Las Vegas Sun newspaper.  
  
'He can't have failed on both counts!' he thought, reaching the end of the newspaper without seeing anything about a Stokes family member dieing.  
  
'Damn it, Micah,' he thought desparately. He pushed the newspaper aside and yanked out an envelope, pen and paper.  
  
'That's it, this time, we try a direct approach,' he concluded as he began to write.  
  
It was about 8.30 in the evening. Nick was strolling back home after stopping at a store for supplies. He looked at his watch, better get home, Sara has the tenency to get really worried if he is late.  
  
Stopping in front of an alleyway between a closed grocrey shop and a boutique that was empty except for a bored looking clerk, Nick paused, thinking,'This is one of Vegas' rare quite streets.  
  
He considered going through the alleyway. That would cut off about 7 minutes worth of walking.  
  
Without delaying anymore time, he made up his mind and turned into the alleyway.  
  
Halfway down, he suddenly heard a tapping sound behind him. Nick frowned, while turning around. Nothing. Wondering whether it was just his imagination, he turned back...  
  
Only to have his head striked with something really heavy and hard. He slumped onto the ground, his head throbbing painfully.  
  
Gathering his strength, he looked up to see his attacker. "Oh, no!" he thought as he saw the yellow and black mask staring at him menacingly, bat in hand.  
  
Nick yanked out his gun, thankful that he had been carrying it at that time. His attacker seemed surprised at the sight of the gun, taken aback, even. But he held his bat upright, ready for one more srtike.  
  
Which he did deliver. Tiny stars exploded from inside Nick's head, who closed his eyes, wincing.  
  
When he reopened them, his attacker was running down the end of the alleyway, Nick raised his gun, and shot.  
  
He heard a muffled,"Argg!", more footsteps, then everything went black.  
  
"Thank's Wes, I had a great time!" Jen said as they went into her apartment.  
  
"No problem, Jen. I had a great time too," Wes replied, quietly. That's one of the things Jen liked about Wes since she returned from th future. Wes was never this serious and quiet before.  
  
They walked into the balcony, enjoying the scenery. A rare Vegas cool breeze swept through the town.  
  
Jen murmured,"It's so beutiful,"  
  
After a second, Wes said,"So are you Jen, so are you..."  
  
Jen glanced at him, surprised. But he was just leaning against the balcony, staring at the scenery.  
  
Just as suddenly, as though he just made up his mind, he straightened up and cleared his throat and said, somewhat nervously,"Um, Jn, you know we've been dating for some time,"  
  
"Seven months, two weeks and three days," said Jen, grinning.  
  
Wes raised his eyebrows. "I like to keep count," she explained.  
  
Wes chuckled and continued,"Well, I've been thinking, maybe it's time I do this..." as he pulled out a small velvet box (A/N: Secret revealed! I bet you saw that coming!) , opened it, and got down on his knee.  
  
Jen gasped. Inside, lay a beutiful diamond engagement ring.  
  
Wes said,"Jennifer, will you marry me?"  
  
Jen's mouth opened in delight and seemed lost for words.  
  
Wes grinned and quipped,"You have the right to remain silent..."  
  
Jen finaly said excitedly,"Yes!"  
  
Wes shut his eyes briefly as if in relief, and slipped the ring onto her fourth finger. He grinned and pulled Jen into a deep hug.  
  
Jen felt tears of joy well up in her eyes. "I love you, Jen," whispered Wes.  
  
"I love you too. Oh, God! This is th happiest day of my life!" she replied.  
  
"Oh, man! Where am I?" mumbled Nick. His head was throbbing madly. Opening his eyes, he found out he was still in the dark alleyway.  
  
He felt a trickle of something flow down his face. Wiping it, 'Blood,' he thought. Wincing, he got up slowly.  
  
The entire street was eerily silent. As he stood up straight, a wave of dizziness engulfed him.  
  
The masked guy was nowhere in sight, which meant the bullet Nick shot either caused minor damage on his attaker, or none at all.  
  
It's a miricle Nick is still alive. Glancing at his watch, he made his way slowly back to his home. '10.30, man , I really blacked out.' he thought.  
  
Slowly, he finally arrived at his neighbourhood. Feeling a deep urge to collapse, he walked towards his front door.  
  
Sara was pacing back and forth, in the living room, the cordless phone is hand. She had been calling Nick for the last hour, yet, no answer.  
  
The twins are fast asllep. She is a nervous wreck. What if Brian Mc Cormick's accomplicegot to Nick first? She knew now that all those attacks on Nick's family members were not coincidenses.  
  
Just then, the door bell rang. Sara immedietly rushed to open the door. "Nick! Are you ok?" she sid frantically as she pulled Nick's weary bruised body to the couch.  
  
Nick nodded, tiredly, "Yeah, Brian... got me,"  
  
Sara said,"Oh, God, Nick, we need to get you to the hospital,"  
  
Nick shook his head and said,"I'm fine,"  
  
Sara immedietly bandaged Nick up. After he recovered more, he had to ask the question,"Why did he come after me?"  
  
Sara bit her lip,'That's it. I can't hide anymor,'she thought. Sara gulped and said, "Um, well, Nick, I went to see him the other day. I dunno, I must have set him off, he got really pissed and..."  
  
"WHAT??!!" Nick's eyes widen in shock,"You went to see him? Didn't Grissom say it is too dangerous? Sara! I can't believe you," he muttered, shaking his head.  
  
Sara said,"Nick, I'm sorry..." Nick got up and walked towards the bathroom.  
  
"Nick..." Sara called.  
  
Nick stopped, with his hand on the door knob, he paused and said firmly, "If anything happens to our family, I'll never forgive you," and went in.  
  
TBC  
  
How's that for good news and bad news? Hope you like the story so far, leave a review! 


	9. Twists and Turns

Disclaimer: Nothing PRTF or CSI related is mine.  
  
Note: Thank's for the reviews guys!  
  
( ), I'm not adding the other time force fellows til the last chappy! Sorry!  
  
White Time Ranger, ok,thanks! I'll try fixing up the last chappy, this chapter might be complicating too, I dunno....  
  
Space-Case7029, Nick's just beginning being harsh, muahahahahaha!!! Ahem, hehe, just kidding, but he can be a little heartless in this story. I apologise to Nicky fans all around! hehe. (I'm one myself...)  
  
Chapter 8: Twists and Turns  
  
"Oh, oh! Let me see that!" cried Catherine as she yanked Jen's left hand.  
  
"Hey, hey ,hey! Stop it, Cath!" protested Jen.  
  
But too late, Catherine was already staring in awe at Jen's ring. "It's so beautiful!!! Wes has good taste!" complimented Catherine.  
  
Jen whipped her hand away and said,"Ok, times up! I've got work to do,"  
  
Catherine pouted playfully and said,"Party pooper,"  
  
Jen glanced at her with a grin and disappeared down the hall. Then, Catherine heard Warrick and Greg's voices singing loudly,"Here comes the bride, all dressed in white!!"  
  
"Shut up!" yelled Jen.  
  
Catherine smiled to herself, 'You would think that after being rated the number two crime lab in the country, they wouldn't be so playful,' she thought.  
  
Nick suddenly appeared at the door. "Cath, are you busy now?"  
  
Catherine shook her head and asked,"Why? Woah! What happened to you?" eyeing the bruisers on Nick's face. Nick sighed and beckoned her to follow him.  
  
As they walked down the hall towards the exit, Nick filled Catherine in about the last night's events.  
  
When Nick finished, Catherine gasped and said,"So Sara..." Nick nodded and said,"I even told her that if something happens to our family, I'll never forgive her,"  
  
Catherine frowned. Nick looked at her and asked,"What?"  
  
"Well, I think you were a bit tactless there,"  
  
"Tactless? What??"  
  
"I'm just saying, Sara doesn't deserve that knid of treatment,"  
  
Nick glared at her and sighed as he pushed the front door open. Catherine waited for him to say something but when Nick didn't say anything, she said,"Ok, slow down, Nicky. Question one, where are we going, and question two, are we allowed to?"  
  
The sun was slowly setting. It was nearly the end of shift, but Catherine knew about the lab's strict working hours.  
  
Nick said,"I cleared it with Grissom, and we are going to jail,"  
  
Catherine raised her eyebrows as they began walking towards the carpark. Nick continued,"We are going to convince Brian Mc Cormick to stop bugging my family,"  
  
Catherine asked,"Ok... why do you need me?"  
  
Nick replied,"You are the people person, right? That's why I need you,"  
  
"So I can socialise with the prison inmates?" she asked sarcastically. But Nick chose not to reply to her remark.  
  
They stopped in front of Wes' SUV, where Wes was standing. "So, he got you too, huh?" asked Catherine, "Why does he need you?"  
  
Wes shot her a clueless look and said,"Uh... to drive?" jerking a thumb towards the SUV.  
  
Catherine smiled,"You came willingly, huh?"  
  
Wes shrugged,"Beats working,"  
  
Catherine asked,"Don't you want to keep your fiancee company?"  
  
"Hey, she's got a lot of work to do,"  
  
Nick cleared his throat,"Uh, guys?"  
  
Catherine said,"Sorry, Nicky..." and walked to the back seat door and climbed in.  
  
Wes got into the driver's seat. "Step on it," said Nick.  
  
Wes shot him an inquiring glance and pulled out of the car park.  
  
Half an hour later, they arrived at the jail. Nick was extra 'hyper' that time, he was already entering the prison entrance by the time Wes and Catherine got out of the car.  
  
Wes sighed and said,"We better keep a good look out, when he is in this kind of mood, he is bound to do something unsensible,"  
  
Catherine muttered,"Yeah..."  
  
When they entered, Nick was already at the front desk, waiting for them."I made an appointment, let's go," and he strolled down the corridor, towards the interrogation room.  
  
Catherine and Wes exchanged glances and followed Nick. They stopped outside the interrogation room, an officer came out and said,"You can go in,"  
  
Nick stormed in and confronted Brian,"You are doing this!"  
  
Brian, calm, as usual said,"Why, Nick Stokes! I don't even know what you're talking about!" However, he looked a little surprised.  
  
"No? Well, you seem surprised to see me here, alive!" said Nick. Brian narrowed his eyes,"I am not admitting anything,"  
  
Wes said cooly,"But you're not denying either, right?"  
  
Brian smirked and looked at Nick,"Your wife came to me, it's not my fault. She offered herself to me,"  
  
That's when Nick snapped and lunged for Brian. "Arggh!" Brian yelled as Nick slammed him against the wall.  
  
The interrogation room door opened and the officer on duty ran in, shocked. Wes, the officer and Catherine rushed to pull Nick off Brian.  
  
Wes grabbed Brian only to have his eye socked by him. He fell back, rubbing his eye.  
  
Nick gave Brian a heavy punch. Catherine was yelling,"Nick! STOP IT!!"  
  
But there was no stopping Nick. He kept giving Brian a belt after another till Brian started bleeding heavily.  
  
The officer yelled,"Sir! PLEASE!!"  
  
Wes rejoined the brawl and finally managed to yank Nick of Brian. However, Nick layed a fianl blow, pushing Brian against the wall. Brian's head hit the wall heavily and he slumped to the floor, unconcious.  
  
The officer was hysterical now, he yelled,"Please, get out of here and wait!" to the three crimminalists. The three of them went out while the officer called for a paramedic.  
  
Outside, Catherine was really angry at Nick. Even the steady Wes was seething,"What the hell is wron with you?" he asked Nick furiously.  
  
Nick just turned away,breathing heavily. Catherine said,"Nick! You can't attack a prisoner! Do you realize they can press charges against you? You could lose your job!"  
  
Nick glanced at them and said,"It doesn't matter! Don't you get it? With Brian around, much worse things could happen besides losing a job!"  
  
Catherine looked at Wes, who slumped onto a bench defeatedly. Nick was right.  
  
After the eventful evening, Brian was taken to the jail's special hospital room. The doctor on duty told the crimminalists that Brian was fine,"But I strongly suggest that you do not go and see him again. Do you need more ice for that?" he added to Wes, who's eye was becomming a deep shade of red.  
  
Wes sighed and shook his head.  
  
Soon, the three of them were out in the moon light, walking toward Wes' car. Wes mumble,"Remind me never to get involved with your business ever again,"  
  
Catherine glanced at her watch,"Oh, look at the time," with an edge in her voice.  
  
Nick mumbled,"You still think I acted irrationally, don't you?"  
  
Catherine looked at him and said,"Well..."  
  
"Cath, what would you do if he is attacking your family?"  
  
"I would let the police know, not go and single-handedly punched him into pulp!"  
  
Wes thought wearily,'Here we go again...'  
  
Nick said,"What? Even if he was after your daughter?"  
  
"Again, I'll have the cops handle it, while I take extra care of Lindsay,"  
  
"We are the cops Cath!"  
  
Suddenly, Wes caught sight of something blinking in one of the jail windows. 'A torchlight, maybe?'  
  
The light was blinking on and off every few seconds. "Guys..."  
  
Catherine and Nick were still bickering away. Nick was saying,"So you're saying that you should just ignore all the attacks on your family?"  
  
"YOU CAN IGNORE ALL THE ATTACKS IN THE WORLD FOR ALL I CARE!!" yelled Wes, breaking their argument.  
  
"What?" asked Nick. Wes pointed at the blinking light,"Is it my imagination, or is that light coming from Brian Mc Cormick's ward?"  
  
Nick muttered,"That son of a bitch, now he is palying with a torch light?"  
  
Catherine said,"Wait... isn't that morse code? Who's he trying to communicate with?"  
  
Wes glanced around to the office building opposite the jail. "Hey?" muttered wes, there was a tall dark figure, a man probably, on the roof of the office building. He was hunched as if writing down Brian's light signals.  
  
Wes said,"Guys, I bet you anything that that guy on the roof is our killer!"  
  
TBC 


	10. Moonlight Fight

Disclamier: Nothing belongs to me, if they do, Jen and Wes will nicely be in CSI!  
  
Notes: Thanks ever so much for the reviews guys! I really hope you like this chapter, I don't myself, I dunno, feels not good in a way... review and let me know what you think!  
  
Chapter 9: Moonlight Fight  
  
"Well, I'll be, letter sending not fast enough?" Nick said, scowling.  
  
Catherine said,"Nick, go back in, tell someone, stop Brian, anything!"  
  
Nick narrowed his eyes and said,"It will be my pleasure!" as he ran off.  
  
Catherine called after him, "But NO VIOLENCE!!" Nick raised his right hand in acknowledgement.  
  
Meanwhile, Catherine pulled out a notebook and pen from her pocket and muttered, "I'll write this down,"  
  
Wes raised his eyebrows and asked,"What about me?"  
  
"You, go up there and stop him," she instructed pointing at their suspect.  
  
"What? This is so unfair!" argued Wes.  
  
"You can fight, I can't, I know morse code, you don't! GO!" she retorted.  
  
Wes sighed and ran towards the office building's fire escape stair case, drawin out his gun on the way.  
  
After speedily climbing three floors worth of stair cases, Wes reached the top, thoroughly exhausted. Slowly, he crept toward the haunched figure, trying to control his heavy breathing, if their suspect heard him now...  
  
Soon, he got a good view of their suspect's back, sure enough, long black coat and black bowler hat. Wes narrowed his eyes and in a second, football tackled the guy.  
  
Taken off guard, the suspect fell to the floor. Gun out, Wes and the masked guy struggled for a moment, yet Wes couldn't get a sound out of the guy.  
  
As good of a fighter Wes is, the masked guy was better. Soon, he had Wes locked in an arm hold, long enough for him to pull out a short but heavy bat from his coat and slam it on Wes' head.  
  
Wes slumped onto the ground, barely concious. The guy kicked Wes' gun away and got up and copied the rest of the blinking morse code.  
  
Head throbbing like hell, Wes gropped around for his gun, recovering from the blow quickly, 'That's it, you are so dead...' he thought.  
  
Meanwhile, Catherine was still copying down the code when Nick reappeared. "They won't let me in!" he said exasperately. "The officers said that he needed rest!"  
  
Catherine frowned,"Well, you didn't exactly pat him on the head until he bled out, did you?" rather accusingly.  
  
Nick scowled,"Will you please drop the subject?"  
  
Catherine did not reply. Soon, the blinking stopped.  
  
"Okay, I just need to decipher this, wonder how Wes is doing?"  
  
As if on cue, a gun shot was heard and two shadowed figures appeared at the very edge of the rooftop, kicking, punching, ducking, the works.  
  
"Damn..." muttered Nick.  
  
Finally, one of the figures managed to push the other off the edge of the rooftop.  
  
"Please don't let that be Wes, please don't let that be Wes..." whispered Catherine quietly.  
  
Unfortunately, it was Wes. Thanbkfully, the building was only three storeys high or Wes would definately be dead. Not to mention, Wes landed right in the gigantic green garbage dump.  
  
"Bright side? At least it was a soft landing," said Catherine.  
  
Nick shook his head and ran towards the dump. "Wes, are you okay?" asked Nick.  
  
There was no answer for a moment, then, "You owe me big time, mate!"  
  
Catherine and Nick heaved a sigh of relief.  
  
When Wes got out, smelling really bad (though Catherine and Nick dare not say so,) Nick said,"Makes no differance, he still got away,"  
  
Catherine held up her notebook, "I've got Brian's code, we might be able to know what they are talking about..." she turned to Wes, "Oh, did the suspect say anything at all?"  
  
"Not a squeak, but he was limping... does that help?" replied Wes.  
  
Nick snapped his fingers,"I shot him the other night! I must have got him in the leg! But, nothing else, huh?"  
  
Wes smirked,"What? You really think I'll let you down, huh?" while pulling out something from behind his back, a black bowler hat.  
  
"The damn guy hardly noticed I nicked this!" he said.  
  
Catherine grinned,"When there's a worn hat, there's hair!"  
  
Nick continued, also grinning,"When there's hair, there's DNA."  
  
TBC  
  
How's that? Leave a review! It's way short I know, but I get lazy and run out of ideas. I live in Malaysia, so very hot weather right now. Gonna go sleep! lol!! 


	11. Temporary Relief

Disclaimer: I own CSI and PRTF characters? That'll be the day...  
  
Note: Thanks for the reviews guys! Hope you like this one!  
  
Chapter 10: Temporary Relief  
  
"P.U! You stink!" exclaimed Greg, pinching his nose in an exaggerated manner.  
  
Wes narrowed his eyes and said,"Thank you, I think so too," sarcastically.  
  
Nick, Catherine and Wes have arrived at the crime lab right after heir eventful night. Not wanting to wait until their next shift, they logged into some overtime and got to their respective tasks.  
  
After careful but quick examining, Wes managed to find a strand of dark hair, with enough DNA for comparisons.  
  
So, Wes is at one of the crime lab's many laboratories with the resident lab rat, Greg Sanders. Grg smiled grimly after seeing Wes' tired face, not to mention the black eye, "Ever heard of shower and sleep? I've got a feeling that those words are not in your vocabulary,"  
  
Wes grinned, "Wow, never heard of them... DNA results?"  
  
Greg scowled,"Since when was it all business with you?"  
  
"Since I fell three storeys and started smelling like a warthog..."  
  
Greg smirked and said,"I just fed the DNA into our beloved machine. The results should be out any minute,"  
  
Wes nodded. Greg grinned and lowered his voice,"So, who's gonna be your bestman? Warrick, Nick, or me?"  
  
Wes raised an eyebrow,"Greg, it's only been a couple of days... Jen and I haven't palnned anything yet..."  
  
Greg cleared his throat and said,"Listen, Warrick and I have a bet going on, about who'll you pick to be bestman. So, it wouldn't hurt to tell me who's in the favour now, right?"  
  
Wes asked,"If I pick Nick?"  
  
"Then Warrick will win the bet, he's betting on both him and Nick,"  
  
"Kinda unfair for you ain't it?"  
  
"I have faith in you, you won't let a dear buddy lose now would you?"  
  
Wes bit his lip, amused at how the guys in this crime lab seem to love to bet about anything. Just then, the printer started humming, as it began printing out the DNA results.  
  
Greg pulled the paper out, read through it, and sighed.  
  
Wes asked,"Bad news?"  
  
"No match on anything in AFIS database. Your guy's got a clean past,"  
  
"Bad news," confirmed Wes, nodding.  
  
"However, the DNA matches the semen found on your past two lady victims,"  
  
"So... good news,"  
  
"But unless you have something else for me to compare it to, your chance of finding the guy is very narrow,"  
  
Wes sighed,"Ok, bad news," and whipped the paper out of Greg's hand and disappeared down the hall.  
  
Greg scowled and called after him, "You're WELCOME!!"  
  
Wes popped in at one of the other lab rooms, where Catherine was, deciphering the morse code. Jen was also there.  
  
"Hello ladies," he said.  
  
Jen looked up with a grin. Catherine however, didn't say anything.  
  
Wes said,"I've got good news and bad news. Pick your pleasure,"  
  
Catherine muttered,"Bad,"  
  
Wes said,"Ok, got DNA from hair, no records whatsoever on database,"  
  
Jen said,"Knew it was too good to be true, good?"  
  
"Same guy killed those past two victims, Helen Gibson and Rhonda Stevens,"  
  
Catherine asked,"That's it?" Wes nodded.  
  
Jen sniffed the air,"Something doesn't smell right..."  
  
Wes scowled while Catherine sniggered, she remembered all too well about Wes' dip in the rubbish dump.  
  
Jen said,"Oh, it's you!" to Wes, "Switch the cologne,"  
  
Wes raised his eyebrows mischiviously, "I thought you like my scent?"  
  
Catherine sighed and said,"Ok, I know you guys are engaged and all that, but stop flirting, you're making me feel so single!"  
  
Jen smirked and said,"Sorry..." Then Catherine exclaimed,"Finally! I've decoded the message!" Holding up a piece of paper that said:  
  
"Nick Stokes is still alive, you ninny! You expect me to pay for unfinished business? Take care of Erin Stokes by tomorrow or I will personaly make sure you will pay."  
  
After reading, Jen said,"Such a sweet-tempered guy, don't you think?"  
  
"Erin? Going after her once is not enough?" asked Catherine.  
  
Wes frowned,"Well, she's already out of the hospital, what do we do?"  
  
Catherine replied,"Get the cops, we can look out for Erin when she is in more vunarable places,"  
  
Jen said,"It still puts her in danger though,"  
  
Catherine looked at Jen,"Say... you do look like Erin, don't you? (A/N: Pure coincidence!lol) Hair length and colour wise. If a guy is targeting you through a mask, bruised from the night before, frusrated he hasn't completed a job yet, don't you think he'll get careless?"  
  
Wes' eyes widened,"What? You're suggesting..."  
  
Catherine said,"Well, Jen knows how to defend herself, we can ask Erin to take a day off from work. Jen can lure out suspect to us, and we can catch him,"  
  
Wes fully objected,"And put herself in danger? Come on, Cath. You know what this guy is capable of..."  
  
"Wes, it's Ok, I want to help," said Jen firmly.  
  
Wes looked at her, face full of concern,"I don't want you to get hurt,"  
  
Jen smiled,'Don't worry, I'll be fine. We need to catch the guy, before he takes more lives!"  
  
Outnumbered, Wes sighed and nodded. Jen grinned and said,"I knew you'll see it that way," and kissed him, but she backed away, wrinkling her nose.  
  
Wes rolled his eyes and said,'Har har... That's it, I'm gonna go take a bath..."  
  
The next morning, arrangements have been made ready to catch their elusive suspect. Out on the street, inside a large white van were about six people.  
  
High-tech forensic tools and machines lined the walls. Jen was dressed in office clothesto look exactly like Erin.  
  
Catherine was attaching the speaker device behind Jen's ear.  
  
"Ok, so the plan is like this: we know that Erin always goes through that empty alleyway everyday, our suspect will be sure to know that too. Hopefully, he is there right now. Jen will walk through the alley way, baiting him while we have half a dozen police officers stationed around. Meanwhile, our team in the van will also be trailing Jen, listening in on the spaeaker," rattled off catherine.  
  
Grissom, Wes, Catherine, Capt. Jim Brass and a sound system specialist were to be in the van.  
  
Wes looked up from the lap top he was working on and said,"It's time,"  
  
Jen took a deep breath amd got ready to go out. "Hey, Jen?" said Wes. Je looked at him. Wes said,"Be careful,"  
  
Jen nodded and got out into the street, towards the alleyway. She was also wearing a hat, to hide her face from their suspect. Slowly, she made her way down the street past a guy 'reading the newspaper' . She recognized him as one of the cadets, earger to take the case, and turned into the alleyway.  
  
She walked down the alleyway, 'All alone now,' she thought.  
  
Halfway down, nothing happened at all. The alleyway was eerily silent.  
  
Jen whispered into the speaker,"Guys, I don't think he's going to attack n..."  
  
That's when a rope was placed tightly around her neck, choking her. Jen panicked,'Oh God, please let the guys know something's wrong,' she thought, unable to speak.  
  
The guys knew immedietly, when Jen suddenly cut off. The six police officers appeared from different directions, guns out and pointed at the suspect.  
  
A second later, the white van screeched to a halt in the narrow alleyway, the passengers coming out. The suspect, shocked, let go of Jen and backed against the wall.  
  
Wes immedietely went to Jen and got the rope off her. The masked guy held his hands up in silent surrender.  
  
Catherine felt a surge of satisfaction that they finally got the guy. Then, just as suddenly, the suspect reached into his cloak and pulled out a couple of smoke bombs.  
  
Before the officers could react, the masked man threw the smoke bombs towards them, blinding everyone. Brass yelled,"OPEN FIRE!"  
  
The officers startd shooting towards the place where their suspect was satnding. After numerous shots, the smoke cleared. The wall behind the suspect was badly fried, due to the bullets, but the masked man was no where to be seen.  
  
Catherine let out an angry growl, looking at all the law enforcement officers. Each one looked more disappointed then the last.  
  
They had lost their suspect, again.  
  
TBC  
  
Yay! Another chapter finished! The next might be up fast or might be slower, we'll see. Cos' I'm getting my results for a national exam this Tuesday. If I take a long time to update, that would mean I did badly and my parents have grounded me! lol! Wish me luck! 


	12. Secret Ways

Disclaimer: Never have been, never will be. 

Notes: Yay! I did really well in the exam, so now I'm gonna celebrate by telling you a little spoiler! There will be a character death in one of the chapters! I'll say no more, just read on.

Chapter 11: Secret Ways

"I can't believe this..." muttered Catherine as the team walked back into the crime lab, defeated and disappointed. Nick came out of one of the rooms with an anxious look on his face.

Wes shook his head and Nick sighed. Then he said,"Well, win some, lose some. I called the state jail and they said Brian Mc Cormick has been transfered out of the hospital room. So, he won't be able to give anymore messages,"

Jen said, "I doubt he has anymore means of communicating, so we're safe, for now,"

cathrine frowned,"Well, I don't know, I keep feeling that we're fogetting something important, I just don't know what..."

With that, everyone parted ways.

                                                        ###

Soon, Wes was in the Audio Visual room. Jen went in and saw him lookinh through the video tapes from the casino where one of their victims was found in the alleyway.

"Hey," she said.

Wes looked up and said,"I've looked through these videos four times! Yet, nothing to suggest that out masked phantom was inside,"

Jen said,"Well, she was found in the alleyway outside the casino, the attacker could have never been inside the building,"

Wes sighed,"Yeah... does Sara know about our fruitless attempt to get our guy today?"

"Nope, she's still on leave, Nick never talked to her about it, I've heard," Jen replied, shaking her head.

Wes smirked, never taking his eyes off the giant screen,"Enough about that, what about us?"

Jen grinned but asked innocently, "Us?"

"Yeah, you know, the wedding. I talked to dad, the church he and my mom got married in is still standing. He says it's a really nice place. How bout it?"

Jen grinned,"Sounds good. What about when?"

"You decide. It doesn't really matter does it?"

Jen shrugged,"The sooner, the better,"

Wes chuckled, finally taking his eyes off the creen,"You read my mind,"

They were about to kiss when Nick appeared at the door. The two of them jumped a little as they immediately broke apart.

Whether Nick noticed or cred or not, he did not show it,"This is getting sick. A bomb had just blown apart in my brother's car," (A/N: These attacks are so predictable now there have been so many, sorry! Just bear with me on this one, ok?)

"What? When?" asked Jen.

Nick replied, "Just. The bomb had been set off by timer. Ned's lucky his timing was off. He could have been killed. this is no accident,"

Wes asked,"Brian Mc Cormick?"

"Or our masked phantom, whichever way you like it," Nick replied.

Wes sighed while Jen said,"Another strike.How in the world is he managing this? He can't still be using morse code. The cell window is way too high for that,"

Suddenly, Cathrine rushed in, her blonde hair spreaded messily around.

"Look what the tornado swept in," said Wes.

Panting, Catherine said, "I just realized something we all missed!"

"Which is?" asked Nick curiously.

"It just occured to me that Brian Mc Cormick was relaying messages before getting laid up in the hospital room. And I just remembered, didn't you and Warrick see go and see Mc Cormick about something before? About letter sending?" looking at Wes.

Wes looked as if he had been strucked,"Damn it! How could I have forgotten about that?" as he shut his eyes, silently cursing himself.

Jen said,"It's not your fault. All of us forgot about that,"

Nick said half amusingly,"So many detectives and crimminalists working on this case and we all forgot about such an important lead?"

Jen said,"There wasn't enough evidence for a warrant last time. But this time, consider those letters signed, sealed," she headed out of the room, "Almost delivered."

TBC

Another short and boring chapter, damn! Gotta work better. Well, I'm off to work on chapter 12! Leave a review!


	13. Sin City

Disclaimer: Nothing's mine, not even the title! It's from the CSI book by Max Allan Collins, and I thought it will suit the chapter.

Note: Sorry if I took too long for this, I had to do a little research on the letter stuff...

Thanks for the reviews guys! I owe you soooo much!

Chapter 12: Sin City

"I don't get it, why is it always me who does all the errand running?" Wes asked angrily, shifting his cell phone, holding it between his shoulder and ear.

"I don't know, probably CSI 3 initiation," replied Nick's amused voice from the other end of the line.

As Wes drove into the street which led to the state jail's main entrance, he said,"And if I do get the promotion to CSI level 3?"

"You'll probably still have to run the errands," came a smug reply.

Wes rolled his eyes and muttered,"Why am I not surprise?"

Nick said,"OK, so it's settled. Friday, 7 pm. Don't spend much on a gift, just come and have fun,"

"Sure, sure, two days from now. You think they want to follow mum and dad's footsteps on being a scientist? I know where to get a good 'My First Chemistry Set'," Wes replied.

Nick and Sara will be holding a birthday party for the twins and instead of spending his free time searching for a gift, Wes had to pick up the letters Brian Mc Cormick had been sending.

"I don't advise that you do so. A few years back, Grissom and I got the exact same thing for Lindsay's birthday," said Nick. Wes chuckled.

Nick suddenly said,"Oops, gotta go. Michael is getting the habit of eavesdropping on my conversations. Wants to know what people are getting him," then Wes heard Nick say to Michael,"No, Mikey. Uncle Wes is not on the phone. Yes, yes, I'll tell you when he is. I'm sure he'll get something nice for you!"

Wes grinned as he heard Michael squeal in delight. "Kids get so suspicious, eh? Bye..." before signing off.

He soon pulled into the jail entrance. Slipping the warrant for Mc Cormick's letters into his windbreaker pocket, he went into the building.

Wes scowled when he recognized the officer at the desk, that same cocky youngster that took Warrick around. That officer looked up and scowled too, once he recognized the Las Vegas Police Department windbreaker.

When Wes got to the desk, the officer asked cooly,"What can I do for you, officer?"

Wes pulled out the warrant and handed it to him,"I came to pick up some mail..." he announced, just as cooly.

The officer read through the warrant. Then thoroughly annoyed, he said,"You people always have your ways. I'll go get the letters for you," and he disappeared down the corridor.

A few minutes later, he returned, carrying one envelope.

Wes asked,"Just one?"

The officer replied,"Hey, this ain't no post office, ok? He only sends one a week. You're lucky enough we didn't post this one yet. Take it or leave it,"

Wes glared at the officer and snatched the letter from his hand.

"Oh, by the way, the warrant also states that Brian Mc Cormick is forbiddened to send anymore letters from now on," said Wes. The officer nodded reluctantly.

Wes exited the building and went over to his SUV. Not wanting to wait until he got back to the lab, he pulled on latex gloves and opened the letter. It read:

Job 33:14, Proverbs 31:25.  
Job 6:26?, Job 21: 34

Brian Mc Cormick.

Wes frowned, 'What in the world does this mean?' he thought, 'They all look like words from the bible,' he glanced at the address written in front, 'Looks like a fake,' he thought.

There's no such place in Vegas, yet it is addressed to Vegas. No recipent name, though. 'Better check to make sure,' he thought as he started up the car to drive back to the crime lab.

Back in the lab, he met up with Catherine and they started searching through the dtabase for the address written on the envelope.

An hour later, they confirmed that the address was faked.

"How is he supposed to communicate with his accomplice if the address is fake?" aked Wes exasperately.

Catherine said,"It's just a hunch, but I say protection. So no one finds his accomplice. All post from the jail will have to be sent to the post office. With a crafty person like our masked phantom, he could have easily picked up the letter at the post office itself, no one tracks him,"

Wes sighed.Cathrine smiled a little. Her younger collegues never fail to amuse her. Being on this job for a shorter time than Catherine, youngsters like Warrick, Nick, Greg and Wes never failed to be exasperated when one of their cases hits a dead end.

"Anyway, what about the message inside? What does it all mean?" asked catherine.

Wes shrugged,"That pair is playing us, mocking us even. It's just so frusrating! We'll never catch them at this rate!"

TBC

So, understood what that letter meant? I might tell you in the last chapter. But it's easy enough to decipher. Just check the bible. (Grins) 


	14. Bible Blues

Disclaimer: Nothing is mine. Just borrowing them for the fun of it!

Chapter 13: Bible Blues

"Can you believe this? We're finally together," said Jen as she held Wes' hand.

Wes squeezed her hand and grinned in return. It was a late Sunday afternoon so they time to spend alone together for once.

They had just finished a late lunch so they were walking down one of the queiter Vegas streets. But as usual, they had a job to do. Wes planned to find out what those words and numbers in Mc Cormick's letter meant.

They soon arrived at the church Wes mentioned to Jen. When they entered, Jen gasped.

It was a very beautiful building. Full of history that is really rare to find in Las Vegas, the church had clearly been standing for some time.

The church was empty except for a fairly old man standing in front near the altar, lighting candles. He ws dressed in a very beutiful robe.

The old man turned when he heard footsteps. He looked at Wes for a moment, as if trying to remember him from somewhere. Then his face split into a kindly smile, "Wesley! Wesley Collins. My, my, it's been a while, hasn't it? Last time I saw you, you were just a little tyke of ten years!"

Jen smiled at that comment, trying to imagine Wes as a ten-year-old. Wes blushed a little,"Pastor Henricks, how have you been? I can't believe you still remember me though,""

"I've been great, Wesley, just great. How can I not recognize that messy dirty- blond hair of yours? Always the same!"

Jen giggled softly, highly amused.

Wes sighed,"Pastor Henricks, I'll like you to meet Jen, my fiancee,"

Pastor Henricks smiled kindly at her,"Why, hello there! I am very happy for you! I hope you can control Wesley here. Why, running all over the place during Sunday school!"

"Hey!" said Wes in protest.

Jen replied, with a grin,"I'll manage!"

Pastor Henricks asked,"I suppose that's why you are here? We hold good wedding services,"

Wes nodded,"That, also we want to know whether you know anything about this letter," pulling out Mc Cormick's letter which was put inside the crime lab's evidence bag. The old man took it and read.

"Hmm, they are all phrases from the bible, of course. But I don't know what it all means altogether. Why, you're working with the police now? I knew you'll go places!" said Pastor Henricks.

Wes smiled a little and said,"Crime Scene Investigator sir, and thanks. You've been a lot of help,"

The pastor nodded and said, "Now, about the wedding, why, I suggest..." he started explaining about suitable dates to the couple. But something else caught Wes's attention.

There was a bible placed on the alclove. It was opened and Wes noticed that there was a small red ink mark circling the word 'be'.

Jen was listening intently to Pastor Henricks so Wes walked over to the bible and flicked through the pages. One more red ink mark, hardly visible underlining the letter 'i' was on another page.

Then, Wes heard Jen say,"Thanks a lot sir. Wes and I will let you know about a suitable date,"

The pastor smiled good-naturedly and said,"Well, I must go. I have some teachings to do at the state jail,"

Wes looked up and asked,"State jail?"

"Why, yes. I go there to give religous teachings to the patrons there a few times a week,"

Jen looked at Wes, wondering what he was talking about. Wes asked,"Do you take this bible?" holding up a bible.

The pastor nodded,"I sometimes lend it to the patrons for a while and take it back here,"

Wes asked,"What about these marks?" indicating to the tiny red ink marks.

The pastor and Jen squinted at the small mark underlining the letter 'i' and Pastor Henricks frowned thoughtfully,"Well, one of the patrons must have done that for who knows what reason..."

"And when the bible is here, anyone can read it?" asked Wes.

"Why, yes," the old man replied.

It suddenly dawned onto Jen what Wes is talking about. Brian Mc Cormick manged to keep relaying messages to his accomplice, by some other code through the bible.

Wes asked,"Would it be ok if I borrow this for a few days?"

The pastor frowned but nodded,"I suppose so... but whatever for?"

Jen said, "It will help us a lot in out investigation, sir. We really need to borrow tis,"

Pastor Henricks nodded,"Of course, go ahead... I can always use another one,"

Wes and Jen thanked Pastor Henricks and went out of the church. Jen said,"Well, this is going well,"

Wes nodded,"yeah, our killer finally left an important lead! If we can only figure it out..." he added.

TBC

Ok, sorry for the non- CSI reference for this chapter, fellow fans. Plenty of them in the upcoming chapters! As always, leave a review and let me know what you think! 


	15. Crash the Party

Disclaimer: Nothing's mine! Never will be! 

Note: ARGGG!!!! Big goof!! What are they doing in church on Sunday if the twin's party is supposed to be on Friday? Stupid me! So just replace that Sunday reference with Friday afternoon, ok? Arg!(Gives myself a whack on the head)

Chapter 14: Crash the Party

"Are you sure you won't come? Michael and Emily really want you and Warrick to be there," Nick said, his voice muffled by the poor telephon reception.

Wes said,"Sorry mate. But I really want to crack this case. For all of us,"

Nick sighed and said,"Ok, but you'll miss Sara's blueberry muffins!"

Wes chuckled,"Well then, save some for Warrick of me. Is Jen there yet? She has my gift for the twins with her,"

"Yeah, she just arrived. Where is Warrick now?" asked Nick.

Wes replied,"Oh, gone out to get some take-out dinner. We're gonna try cracking the bible code,"

Nick said,"Well, good luck, and thanks. I really wish I could be there to help both of you..."

"Hey, don't worry about it! Have fun with your kids, ok?"

Nick chuckled,"Yeah... see ya," and signed off.

Wes clicked off his cellphone too and glanced around at the layout room table. A gigantic bible for extra reference, the bible from the church itself, a laptop for internet reasearch, and a whole lot pens and paper were Warrick and his own company for the night.

Soon, Warrick popped in, carrying two packets of styrofoam boxes and two cups of coffee from the lab itself. He set it down on th table and said,"I arranged with nightshift, this room is ous for the night,"

Wes nooded. Warrick said,"Ok, two sets Chinese take-out, two cups of coffee," he paused, putting his hand in his pocket, and pulled out a small bottle of what Wes recognized as eyedrops. "And eyedrops," continued Warrick.

Wes raised his eyebrows. Warrick looked at him and said simply,"It's going to be a long night, ok?"

Wes grinned,"Ok, let's work on the bible marks first since that probably is the latest message,"

Warrick nodded in agreement, and said,"there are marks scattered on random pages. Very small marks. We have to be extreamly thorough," he said.

Wes sighed,"You flick, I write," holding up a magnifying glass.

"Na-ah, you flick, I write!" retorted the African-American man. They both knew it was going to be very tiresome flicking page to page, searching for red ink marks hardly longer than two milimeters.

Warrick pulled out a coin, "Alright then, call it," as he flipped the coin into the air.

Wes said,"Heads,"

Warrick caught it, "Tails!" he said in triumph.

Wes sunk back into his chair in mock agony and groaned. Warrick picked up a pencil and shoved the bible towards Wes,"Start flicking! Be thorough!" he instructed.

Wes scowled at Warrick, pulled the bible towars him, picked up the magnifying glass, and turned to the first page...

"Ok, Genesis, 17:19, 'v'" said Wes, squinting at the page. Warrick made a note,"Bettewr write phrase titles eh? They might be important," he said.

"Exodus, 6:20, 'e', I dunno how his accomplice can stand this kind of torture," mumbled Wes.

"Judges, 6:30, hey, it's a word this time,'son'..." a bit of worry creeping into Wes' voice.

"Samuel 17:9, 'kill'..." Warrick looked up and muttered,"Damn..."

"Samuel 23:4, 'b', can't he stick to words?"

"Nehemiah, 4:22, 'i'..." Wes paused to take a sip of coffee. The clock was ticking loudly.

"Psmalms, 142:1, 'a'," Wes looked at the clock, an hour and a half had passed. Warrick took over the bible search.

"Proverbs 31:8, 'u',"

"Isaiah, 14:9, 'p',"

"Isaiah, 36:6, 'him'," Wes took a bite from the Chinese food, which was cold already.

"Isaiah, 38:1, 'h'. He's getting lazy, they are set closer together this time," commented Warrick.

"Ok... maybe not. Jeremiah,11:2, 'a',"

"Jerimiah, 31:31, 'm'," Another hour passed, 10.pm. Wes took over again.

"Jeremiah, 33:20, 'be', word..."

"Jeremiah, 48:45, 'l'," Warrick frowned,"Not fair! What you find is always close together!"

Wes grinned. "Ezekiel, 11:9, 'will',"

"Ezekiel, 22:28, 'e',"

"Ezekiel, 31:18, 'h'. Do you really think the phrases are important?" asked Wes doubtfully.

"Don't worry about it, it's just covering the bases," replied Warrick.

"It's wasting TIME! Matthew 1:15, 'c',"

"Matthew 1:21, 'and'," It was already midnight. Warrick sighed. It was his turn to flip now. "This damn message had better be worth missing Sara's muffins!"

"Matthew, 2:1, 'the',"

"Luke, 'l',"

"John, 'i'," Wes asked,"I thought the phrases were important?"

"They were, until my eyes started hurting badly. If they are important, we can just check back, right?"

"And that's not wasting time??"

"Sush and write... John, 'e'," Wes took over again.

"Acts, 'n'," Wes could feel his eyelids drooping. 2.30 am already.

"Romans, 'd', that's it, you take over, I'm gonna take a nap,"

"WES!"

Wes ended up having to go on searching anyway.

"Romans, 'r',"

"Galatians, 'they',"

"Hebrews, 'n',"

"James, 'tomorrow',"

"James, 'k',"

"Revelation,'a', and 'l'"

After a bit more flipping, "that's it! Phew! Wake me up when you're done,"said Wes, closing his eyes. It was already 4 am.

Warrick scowled,"Hey, you gotta help me, ok?"

"I'm suffering from sleep deprevition here!"

Ignoring Wes statement, Warrick said,"Ok, here are the words we have so far: Son, kill, him, be, will, and, the, they and tomorrow,"

"Kill him and be the son tomorrow?"

Warrick tried to shoot Wes a sarcastic look but ended up laughing. "This is serious, Wes!"

"Ok, ok! But I think the letters have something to do with the words too,"

"Ok, then the letters: v, e, b, i, a, u, p, h, a, m, l, e, h, c, i, l, e, n, d, r, n, k, l and a,"

"Well, that's a lot of help," said Wes sarcastically.

"Maybe if we try and see what the words have in common. What do you do before 'kill'?"

"Sharpen murder weapon?"

"Wes..."

"What? My brain isn't working very well now!"

"How about... kidnap?"

"That's it! Nice War!" said Wes and he crossed out the letters spelling kidnap.

After half an hour, they managed to work out the sentence, 'They will be... tomorrow. Kidnap the son and kill him,'

"What will they be tomorrow? Free?" pondered Wes.

Warrick glanced at the letters and said,"Vulnerable?"

Wes looked at him and asked,"How the hell do you do that?"

Warrick merely smiled. Wes held up the paper and said,"They will be vunarable tomorrow, kidnap the son and kill him, hmm... who? Mrs Stokes sons, or Nick's son? There are letters leftover..."

Warrick said,"What do you make out of this? A, h, m, l, c, i,"

A moments silence, then Wes said,"I think that this is definately worth missing Sara's muffins. 'MICHAEL',"

Warrick's eyes widened,"this is bad... if you found this bible this afternoon, that means tonight's midnight is already 'tomorrow'...which means that 'tomorrow' is today..."

Wes frowned, not really understanding what Warrick meant. But he said,"Which means that Michael will be kidnapped anytime now..."

TBC

OK, how was that? Leave a review!


	16. Don't Leave Me

Disclaimer: Nothing's mine. Never will be. 

Note: Yahoo! 2 Chapters in one sitting, hope you like this one! Leave a review!

Chapter 15: Don't Leave Me

It was about 10 p.m. The party was over already. Emily, tired out, fell fast asleep a long time ago but Michael was still energetic, ripping through presents and everything.

Nick and Sara were cleaning up the remnets of the party. After the house was satisfactory clean, Sara went over to Michael.

"Sweetie, it's getting late, go to bed, ok?" she said.

Michael, who was fiddling with Catherine's soft teddy bear gift, got up and surprisingly, hugged Sara. "Today was great, mommy, thank you!"

Nick, who was standing in the kitchen, heard Michael's words and smiled, touched. Sara smiled as well, returning the hug.

Then, Michael ran to Nick,"You promised to read me the story book Uncle Wes gave dad!"

Nick grinned, "That, I did. Go get ready, I'll be there soon,"

Michael grinned, a grin that was so like Nick's and disappeared into the bedroom he shared with his twin.

Nick and Sara looked at each other, happiness in both their eyes and Nick went into the twin's room.

                                                          ###

Emily was a heavy sleeper so she did not hear a single part story. At the end, Michael, "That was great daddy, will you read it to me again tomorrow? I want Emily to hear it too!"

Nick smiled, "Of course, now go to sleep, ok?" and he kissed Michael on the forehead and went out.

Before he closed the door, he heard Michael say,"I love you daddy,"

Nick smiled, turned off the light and shut the door quietly. He made sure all the doors were locked and went into his own bedroom.

Sara was already asleep, judging by her breathing. Nick got into bed and fell asleep instantly, tired out...

Only to be awaken by the phone on the bedside table. Sara jolted awake too, mumbling,"Who dat?"

Nick moaned and looked at the digital clock, 4.45 am, who could be calling at such an hour? He gropped around for the phone and sleepily pressed the 'accept' button.

"Hello?" he asked. Sara was also listening closely. "Wes? What do you think you're doing calling at this ti... WHAT?!"

Nick sat up, wide awake all of a sudden. Sara stared at him and turned on the lamp.

"Michael? No way! Of course he's still in bed!" said Nick, looking at Sara.

Sara immediately jumped out of bed in alarm and went into the twin's room. Nick followed in pursuit.

Alas, when Sara hurriedly turned on the light, the room was in tiptop order, everything in place, except the window was wide open and Michael's bed was empty. Emily was still fast asleep. Sara felt as if someone had stabbed her with a cold icy knife.

She walked over to Michael's bed. There was a note lying on it:

'My accomplice will call at 12 noon. Don't do anything yet or your son gets it!

Compliments,   
Brian Mc Cormick'

Nick, who had been reading over Sara's shoulder moaned softly in shock. Only Wes' soft voice from the cell phone in Nick's hand could be heard. "Hello? Hello? Nick!"

Nick let the phone fall to the floor, his entire self unable to comprehend anything going on now. Sara, with tears in her eyes, collapsed onto Michael's bed, sobbing uncontrollably,"No.. please no..."

Nick stared at the open window, the curtains flapping in the wind. Brian Mc Cormick had sucessfully ripped one of his two most precious things in his life, his son.

TBC


	17. Call Me

**Disclaimer: Same old, same old... nothing is mine. Never will be.**

**Notes: Thanks again for the reviews! Jenkin's kid, read, read!**

**Chapter 16: Call Me**

**After the phone connection went dead, Wes and Warrick immediately called for reinforcements and went over to the Stokes residence.**

**The sounds specialists began to set up high-tech equipment to help locate where their masked phantom was calling from. There were many people bustling around the house. Many of them still sleepy-eyed, it was only 7.30 a.m.**

**Jen was sitting with Sara and Emily, comforting them, one thing that only female homicide detectives could do. Capt. Jim Brass just doesn't seem to do that. Sara's eyes were red from the night's crying.**

**Wes was dusting for prints on the note left by their suspect. Warrick had gone to process the twin's room. The sounds specialists had gotten the phone all hooked up by 10 a.m. Now, they were just rattling off instructions to Nick.**

**At 10.15 am, Catherine also entered the home with a sad expression on her face. She went over to Sara, who broke down again, sobbing on Jen's shoulder.**

**Warrick was looking out of the window, to see if their suspect left any shoeprints on the ledge or on th lawn. Unsurprisingly, by the way things are going that day, the lawn was totally clean. Warrick closed his eyes, trying to imagine what happened that night: (A/N:hehe, CSI classical reconstructions!)**

**_The masked phantom was sitting in the bushes, out of sight. He was watching the house, waiting for the right moment. He saw the light on in the room he was targeting. 15 minutes later, the light was turned off. _**

_**After waiting for what seemed like an eternity, he got up and trudged through the lawn, pulling on gloves on the way. Happy that this house was only one story high, he leapt into the room, careful not to leave any marks. He walks up to the young girl, checks to make sure she was asleep. Bad luck to her if she wasn't.**_

**_Satisfied, he walks over to the boy, his target. Carefully gagging the boy so he can't yell if he wakes up, he picks up the boy and pulled out the note he had written, placing it carefully on the bed. Job done, he climbed out of the window again, when he felt the boy squirm. He looked down at the pesky brat; his eyes were opened with sheer terror, unable to speak._**

_**Making a firm grip on the boy, he walked through the lawn; he made sure his shoeprints were wiped out. He looked back at the house, dark and silent, no one saw him. Good. He felt a surge of satisfaction that he had finally completed a task. **_

_**Nothing can stop him, nothing at all, nothing, except...**_

**A hand found its way onto his shoulder, "Yipes!!" yelled Warrick, snapping back into reality. Warrick quickly turned around to see the owner of the hand.**

**Wes was standing behind him, holding up his hands in surrender, "Sorry bout' that, mate!"**

"**Jeez, Wes!" scolded Warrick. He was about to shoot an angry remark when Catherine came in, "Hey fellows, found anything?"**

**Wes shook his head, "The guy wore gloves. Only Sara and Nick's prints on that note,"**

**Warrick said, "No marks to suggest a single print from him here. He must have wiped them all out,"**

**Catherine sighed, "I can't believe this is happening!" **

**Wes closed his eyes briefly, shaking his head slightly. Warrick said, "We better go down. The phone call is our only hope now,"**

"**He won't do anything to Michael yet, right?" asked Wes worriedly. Catherine replied, "I hope not..."**

**Five minutes to twelve noon, one of the sound specialists was saying to Nick, "Remember, no one else is here. Try and keep him on the phone long enough for us to track him down. Ask him to put your son on the phone, make sure you hear Michael's voice,"**

**Nick nodded. Emily asked quietly, "Mommy? What's going on? Where's Michael?"**

**Sara hugged Emily closer and said, "Don't worry Emily, we'll find him,"**

**Suddenly, the phone rang. The sounds specialist nodded at Nick, who picked up the phone, "Hello?"**

"**So, you got my message," was the reply.**

"**What do you want?"**

"**Oh, I really don't know. Just following my boss's instructions, why don't you try and find me? If you are successful in catching me, I'll give you your son," the suspect's voice was dying away.**

"**Wait! I want to talk to my son!"**

"**Hmm... why not?" then, quite suddenly, "DADDY!!!!" came Michael's voice.**

"**Michael!" Nick yelled. Then, the line went dead. "Michael!!"**

**The GPRS system on the computer had worked its magic, "You did well. We got a location. Frank's Warehouse, desert area. There's a payphone there. Our guy probably called from over there,"**

**Jen announced quietly, "Then let's go..."**

**Sara left Emily with Mrs. Stokes and went into Wes' SUV along with the other CSI's. The homicide detectives (Brass and Jen) had already sped off, siren on, leading the way. Wes revved up the engine and followed in pursuit.**

**Nick stared out the window, thinking determinely, "Hang on Mike, I'm coming..."**

**TBC**

**Hope you liked that. Will Michael be saved? All will be revealed in the upcoming chapter! Review as always!**


	18. Tragedy Strikes

Disclaimer: Nothing's mine, never have been, never will be. 

Note: Thanks for the reviews! So darn right, Brass does turn off the siren... Wanna know whether Michael will be saved or not? Read on!

Chapter 17: Tragedy Strikes

In fifteen minutes, the six vehicles screeched to a halt outside the old abandoned warehouse. the gigantic building was eerily silent, just a few broken down windows with wooded panels that termites managed to gnaw through. Gil Grissom arrived a few seconds behind them.

All the police officers had their guns out at the ready. Captain Jim Brass was barking out instructions,"Alright, I want no noise, got it? I get as much as a squeak, your fired. Go in there, search for the guy but make sure the young boy is safe first, got it?" he said in a soft but clear voice.

The officers nodded. Jen had gone to check out the perimeter. Soon, she returned and said,"Ok, we're splitting into teams. We have four different entrances, front, back and two side doors, take your pick,"

The CSI's soon joined the party, not surprise that their boss beat them here as usual. Everyone got out their guns but Nick held Sara back,"No, you stay behind in case anything happens,"

Sara could not argue so she nodded.

Brass looked around, doing a quick head count,"Nineteen of us, excluding Sara. Divide yourself up and let's go,"

After a moment, everyone had divided themselves and were getting ready to enter the building.

Sara had a bad feeling in her gut. Praying as hard as she could that Michael is OK right now, she called out softly,"Nick..."

Nick turned around. Sara said,"Find Michael and bring him back, ok?" Nick nodded and said,"I will..." and eighteen of them spreaded out to the four entrances.

Brass, Grissom and three police officers took the front door. Nick, Warrick and another two officers took the west side. Another six officers stuck together and took the east side. Jen, Wes , Catherine and the last officer took the back door.

Only the CSI's and detectives had latex gloves on. It was very dark inside the building.

Once inside, Brass looked around, and hand suddenly hit something on the wall. He tried to move his hand aside when whatever he hit moved too. Suddenly, the entire warehouse lit up in a dim white light. Brass had just hit a light switch.

Grissom and the three officers stared at him and Brass muttered, "Whoops..."

"So much as squeak he says..." mumbled one of the officers.

The six officers who took the east side had just gotten in, shutting the door behind them. "Geez, it's so dark in here!" whispered one of them.

Suddenly, a dim white light lit up the path. One of the officers glared at the one who whispered,"Well done, Rick, well done..." sarcasticaly.

"Who did that?" asked a scared looking cadet. The others gulped, and walked slowly down the corridor.

Meanwhile, Nick's squad too was greeted by the sudden light. Warrick immediately muttered, "Who told you guys to touch anything?"

The officers protested,"We didn't!"

Nick made a sushing sound as he took in the interior of the warehouse. It was about as high as a two story house. Rows of high shelves were placed from the beginning to the end at one metre intervals.

On the shelves, boxes of various shapes and sizes were stacked messily, blocking the next row from sight. Taking a deep breath, Nick ed his companions into one of the rows.

When, they got into the warehouse, it was completely dark. Wes and Catherine got out their torch lights when the officer with them suddenly sneezed. Wes, Jen and Catherine said,"SHHH!!" simultaneously.

Suddenly a dim light flooded the warehouse. The four of them raised their eyebrows. Wes asked the officer,"How do you do that?" The officer gulped.

Unbeknownst to all of them, all four teams were now in the many rows between the giant boxes. Everyone of them hardly dared to breath in case of alerting their suspect. (As if turning on the light wasn't a warning enough)

Slowly, but surely, everyone spilt ways, some were walking in pairs while others were alone.

Eventually, it was Wes who found something. In the middle of one of the long corridors, was a large gray suit case. 'Big enough to keep a four-year-old inside,' thought Wes with a shudder.

Soon, everyone was notified and they gathered around the suitcases, trying not to fear the worst. Brass has called Sara in, who was looking deathly pale.

An officer appeared and said,"Nothng, out suspect is definately gone, maybe he took the kid with him?"

Brass muttered,"Maybe not... Nick, you wanna open that?" pointing at the suitcase.

Nick did not reply. He didn't have any tears in his eyes either, he simply looked like he could no longer control his mind and body. He just stood there, staring at the suitcase, looking helpless.

Wes knew that Nick wouldn't be able to do anything now so he offered,"Hey mate, you want me to open it? I mean, it might not even be... well, it could just be a note giving another clue, right?"

Nick nodded numbly, his hands were shaking so badly. Grissom put a hand on Nick's shoulder.

Wes walked towards the suitcase, and bent down. Jen and Catherine had to hold on to Sara, who seemed to forget how to stand indepentantly.

Putting his hands on the suitcase buckles, Wes muttered a silent prayer,'Please don't let Michael be inside, please don't...' he clicked open the buckles. A mixture of tensed emotion filled the air. Their hearts beating a lot faster than usual.

Wes took a deep breath and swung the suitcase open...

Everyone's hearts leaped to their throats as they saw what happened. A short lifeless arm could be seen, prodding out of the suitcase.

But for Wes, who got a clear view of the suitcase's contents, it was pure pain. A tear rolled down his cheeck as he turned to Nick.

Nick had just regained full use of his body and he ran over to the suitcase, nearly knocking Wes over. Lying in the suitcase, was Michael. A once lively, young Michael, now reduced to a corpse.

Nick muttered, his voice getting gradually higher,"No... no... please no... NOOOOOO!!!!!!" crying over little Michael's body.

Sara made to run towards her dead son but never managed it, she had blacked out, falling into Catherine and Jen's arms. They doubled over, thanks to the added weight. Both of them had tears in their eyes.

Even the steadfast Grissom had tears in his eyes, even Brass, the hard and strict homicide detective captain, even the dozen police officers who hardly know Nick and Sara were gathered around, trying to choke back tears.

Wes snapped off his latex gloves, looking at the floor steadily. He looked up again and exchanged glances with Warrick. Both of them felt extreamly sorry for their friend. If only... if only they solved the code earlier.

Nick was sobbing uncontrollably, holding on to Michael's body.

No one could pull him away, no one felt the need to, no one felt the need to tell him that he was contaminating evidence, not even Gil Grissom, no one at all...

But one thing everyone felt, was pity, and sorrow. Sorry for this couple who had done so much to help put bad guys in jail. This payback is definately unfair.

Let Sheriff Brian Mobley yell at the squad for allowing evidence be contaminated. There wasn't much anyone could do for Nick and Sara. Not now...

TBC

Well, there ya' go! Told you there will be a character death. No worries, I'll never get rid of Wes, Jen or the CSI cast!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Jason Faunt (Wes Collins) 20th November!!!


	19. I'll Never Forgive You

Disclaimer: Me, own Power Rangers and CSI? If ONLY... 

Yeah! I'm back! With a new chapter, review as always!

Chapter 18: 'I'll Never Forgive You'

Soon, the coroners arrived at the warehouse, ready to take Michael's body back to the lab for autopsy.

The crimminalists were all eager to start processing the scene, determined to get the masked phantom and bring him to justice. Nick and Sara, of course, were excluded. They had been given an immediate leave by Grissom, which they grudgingly took.

After the couple left, everyone set to work in their respective tasks. Grissom developed the habit of constantly reminding his team,"Treat this like any other crime scene, no emotions,"

This was of course a crazy thing to say, how could they not feel any emotions? This is the son of their friends they were talking about.

After careful examination and picture taking, no evidence was found. Warrick said, frusratedly, "An average male loses about 80 hairs a day! Yet, not a single hair to be found!"

Catherine sighed, tucking a loose strand of her own strawberry blonde shoulder-length hair behind her ear,"Remember when Wes stole our suspect's head gear? Maybe he's shaved since then or something..."

Meanwhile, Wes had gone to see Dr. Al Robbins in the morgue for Michael's autopsy. Wes and the coroner were both in blue scrubs. One of the senior coroners, Dr. Robbins is in his sixties. He had a bushy graying beard and always carried a metal cane around, he had lost his leg in a car accident a few years back.

"Cause of death?" Wes asked.

"Death by strangulation," replied elderly coroner. His usually bright eyes were red and his usual chirpy tone was solemn.

He gently thumbed open one of Michael's eyelids,"Petechial hemorrahaging in the eyes, ligature marks on the neck suggest a rope of some kind was being used. Very hard to be traced,"

Wes sighed,"Painful death..." staring at Michael's body, now covered to the neck with a white sheet.

Dr. Robbins said,"Tell Nick and Sara that they can claim the body for burial tomorrow," shaking his head, he continued,"It's a pity. This boy's got his whole life ahead of him. Nick and Sara doesn't deserve this,"

Wes muttered,"No one does. So, evidence wise, what do we have?"

Dr. Robbins replied,"Evidently, nothing. As far as this case is concerned, dead end."

Stoke's residence:

Soon, Nick and Sara arrived back home. Mrs. Stokes greeted them and when they told her the news, she too broke down crying.

Sara pulled her into a hug, while looking at Nick. Strangely enough, Nick wasn't making eye contact with her. Come to think of it, Nick hadn't spoken a single word to her since this morning.

After Mrs Stokes left five minutes later, Emily came rushing out. "Mommy! Daddy!" rushing into Nick's arms. "Daddy, where's Michael?"

Nick hesitated,"Well, um... Michael has gone to heaven, sweetie,"

"Oh, when will he be back?"

Nick closed his eyes and said, "He won't come back. You have to understand, Emily, Michael's gone to a much, much happier place but he will always be with us, even though we can't see him,"

Emily said,"But I want to play with him..."

"I'm sorry Emily, but Michael's gone. He's gone..."

Tears leaped to Sara's eyes again as Emily pulled away from Nick and ran down the hall into her room, crying. Nick called after her, "Emily, Emily!"

When she did not reply, Nick sighed. Sara asked timidly,"Nick, do you want to talk or anything?"

Nick turned to her, "No, I don't want to talk! Because of you, we have lost a son, so excuse me, I'm not in the mood to talk right now!" he took a deep breath and said,"I told you, if anything happens to our family, I'll never forgive you,"

With that, he went into the twin's room after Emily.

Things were terrible for Sara during the next few days. After the funeral, Nick was more distant than ever. He never seemed like the kind to hold grudges, but this time...

Nowadays, Nick had left home for the lab way before anybody else and he comes home at about 3am. Nick had insisted to go back to work. Sara, however was still on leave.

But one evening changed it all, and not for the better. It was three days after the funeral. Sara was getting bored just sitting around the house. Emily had gone to Mrs Stoke's place as usual.

During the late evening, Sara tried calling Nick on his cellphone,"Hey Nick?"

"Yeah?" came Nick's stoney reply.

"I baked some muffins, maybe after work you can come home and..."

"Uh, don't think so Sara, we are going to have a major meeting to discuss some budget stuff and we won't be done til late night. Sorry!"

"Oh, then..."

"I gotta go,. bye..." and the line went ded.

Then Sara thought,'Why not bring the food over? Everyone usually complained about the lack of good food in the lab,' so that's what she did. She packed the muffins up and headed towards the lab.

When she went in, she ran into Jen, who was on her way out,"Hey Sara! What are you doing here?"

"Just thought that maybe you guys will like a threat. CSI is having a meeting right?"

"Yeah, dunno when they'll be done. You know, these meetings about job budgets and stuff can last really long. With day and night shift butting heads. Thanks to them, I have to go interrogate on my own..." replied Jen while eyeing the box in Sara's hand.

Sara laughed as she opened the box. Jen pulled out a muffin and asked,"So... how are you holding up?"

Sara replied,"I'm fine... thanks,"

Jen nodded back and said,"well, I gotta go, see ya..."

Sara said,"Workaholic! Loosen up a little, Jen! Don't work so hard!"

Jen grinned and replied,"Look who's talking! Grissom's heir!" and she went out of the building.

Sara sat in the reception room for about half an hour when she saw Wes and Warrick pass by. They both looked extreamly tired and sleepy eyed. Well, Warrick always looked sleepy eyed, but today it looked very much increased.

"Hey fellows! Meeting over?" Wes nodded while Warrick said, "Yeah, it was short for once. You shouyld have been there. Cath and Ecklie were yelling at each other hoarse,"

Sara smirked,"Not Grissom?"

Wes said,"Nah, he was quiet. Thanks to Cath, we get more holidays next year. Might even get a company trip,"

Warrick scowled,"I voted against it.I'm not going anywhere with Greg Sanders..."

Sara grinned,"Me too. Uh, seen Nick?" asked Sara.

"Locker room," said Warrick.

"Thanks," said Sara as she handed Warrick the muffins and headed towards the locker room. Wes and Warrick exchanged glances and followed Sara slowly from behind. But when she stopped in front of the locker room, the two guys turned to into the conference room, not wanting her to see them wanting to eavesdrop.

Sara stopped outside the locker room, out of sight, somehow, her gut told her to stop. She just had to see what Nick will do. She got out her cellphone and dialed Nick's number.

A few seconds later, Nick's cellphone rang. He fished it out and asked,"Hello?"

"Nick?"

"Yeah... what's up?"

"Hey, uh... meeting over yet?"

"Oh..." Sara could see Nick staring at his locker hesitantly.

"No, not yet. Will probably go on for hours... you know Conrad Ecklie..."

Sara frowned,'How could he lie like this?' she thought.

Angry and hurt, she went into the locker room and asked a very surprised Nick,"If you find it so hard to live with me, why don't you just move out?!!" without waiting for an answer, she stormed off, almost knocking Wes and Warrick over, who were just carefully trying to eavesdrop, on the way. The two of them hardly caught a word, though.

They stared at her, walking down the corridor looking angry. She had tears in her eyes.

The guys knew immediately that Nick had lied to her about something or other. Wrrick called after her,"Sara, wait!" but she didn't turn back.

Wes and Warrick exchanged glances. They knew that Nick had been avoiding Sara. He had asked them to keep him company at one of the casinoes and bars til the early hours of the morning.

Wes and Warrick walked into the locker room and Wes said,"Now you've done it,"

Nick looked at the two guys and asked,"What?"

Warrick said angrily,"She just lost her son! She needs all the support she can get! But what does her heartless husband do?!?!"

Nick looked down,"She's the cause of Michael being killed," he said quietly.

Wes said,"Damnit, Nick! Sara doesn't deserve this kind of treatment! Do you have any idea how Sara is feeling now?"

Nick got up and shut his locker,and asked,"What about me, guys? Do you have any idea how I feel now? I don't think so!" and stormed off.

TBC

Hope you like this one. Review as always!


	20. Aftermath

Disclaimer: Yeah! I own CSI and PRTF! Watch out for the next episode of Season 5 of CSI! Jeason Faunt and Erin Cahill are gonna be added in the cast and Nick and Sara will be together as a couple!!!!!!!!! sigh... dream on... 

Thanks for the reviews guys! White Time Ranger, you made my day!

Yeah, yeah, plenty of bad news. Don't worry, I plan to end this happily! Just bear with me a few more chapters.

Chapter 19: Aftermath

The next afternoon when Sara got home, she was surprised to see Nick there. He was standing on the step ladder, screwing in the lightbulb that blew out yesterday. (A/N: No 'how many CSI's does it take to screw in lightbulbs' jokes please... lol!)

Sara said,"Hey..."

"Oh, hi," Nick replied, getting down from the step ladder. "Just thought I'll fix that before..." he left that sentence hanging and walked towards the couch.

Sara followed him and she did not like what she saw behind the couch, a suitcase.

Nick continued,"I fixed the leaking pipe in the bathroom, stocked up the fridge and done some cleaning," he picked up his car keys on the coffee table. Beside it was a picture of Nick, Sara and the twins, a happy family.

Nick picked it up and sighed,"I think it will be better forus if I move out for the time being. maybe life will be better for us that way. I'll be staying at my mom's place, so Emily will know where to find me," as he put the picture frame back onto the table.

"Bye, Sara," he muttered as he picked up his suitcase and went out of the house, leaving Sara speechless.

* * *

"Are you sure..."

"Ma, please. I've made up my mind."

"But Sara..."

"Will be fine. It's better for us this way. Emily! Are you ready?" called Nick.

It was a sunny Sunday afternoon, boiling hot as usual. Nick planned to take Emily out to the park. For some reason, Jen and Wes wanted to join them too.

Nick went into the spare bedroom, where Emily stays in on her visits, to check on her.

At that time, the doorbell rang. Mrs Stokes answered it. Wes and Jen were there, both in sports attire. "Hey there. Mrs Stokes!" grinned Wes.

Mrs Stokes smiled,"Hi Wes, Jen,"

"Coming Nicky?" called out Jen.

"Yeah, yeah, just a sec," was the reply.

"Hi Aunt Jen! Uncle Wes!" came Emily's voice.

"Hi, Em!" said Wes and Jen simultaneously.

Jen turned to Mrs Stokes,"Sara come by?"

Mrs Stokes shook her head,"No... talk some sense into Nick, ok guys?"

They nodded in return, though doubtfully. Nick can be very stubborn when he wants to...

* * *

Soon, the four of them headed out to the park. Upon arriving, they played a little basketball, girls versus guys. Emily always shputed with glee whenever Jen lifted her into the air to score.

After an exhausting match, they settled downon a bench to rest. Emily was saying,"We beat you flat, daddy!"

Nick moaned,"Ah... you're just lucky!"

Jen smirked,"Lucky? It was skill, right Emily?"

"Yeah Aunt Jen!" slapping her a high five.

Wes grinned,"It's no longer a man's world, eh Nicky?" Nick grinned back.

There was a moment's silence, where Jen and Wes exchanged looks.

Suddenly, Jen said,"Come on, Emily, let's go buy some ice cream,"

"Yay!" said Emily and jumped up from her seat.

Wes' eyes widened, clearing stating to Jen, 'I don't want to talk to him about Sara!'

Jen merely smiled back and took Emily with her, toward the ice cream truck.

Wes was silently trying to think of a way to convince Nick to go back to Sara but it was Nick who spoke first,"So, how are the wedding plans going?"

Wes replied,"Oh, great. We're planning to have the wedding in a church then a little party at my dad's mansion later,"

Nick nodded,"Sounds great. I'm really happy for you guys. You're great together,"

Wes took a deep breath. Jen was sure taking her own sweet time to get ice cream. Wes said,"Hey,Nick, I just want to apologize,"

Nick frowned, "For what?"

"Well, if Warrick and I had solved the code sooner, we could have saved Michael..."

Nick shook his head,"Hey, don't apologize, man. It's not your fault. Nor Warrick's,"

"But..."

"Look, we've been friends for a long time. Five, six years? I know you, you and Warrick would have done all you could to help me. It's not your fault,"

Wes nodded,"That long, eh? Gosh, we're old..." Nick chuckled.

Wes quickly said,"Well, as a friend, I just want to say, forgive Sara. It's not her fault either. She was just trying to do the right thing. It's Mc Cormick who took it the wrong way,"

Nick did not say anything. After a moment, he said,"So, do you have any plans to catch out masked phantom?"

Wes frowned,"Well, I'm gonna go to the church tomorrowand ask the pastornot to bring the bible to jail anymore..."

"I have a better idea. Listen..."

* * *

Wes glanced around the crime lab, everyone was carrying on with their own business. Just a typical day.

Wes slipped into the now empty conference room, shutting the door behind him. He went over to his place and pulled out the bible from the church.

He was going to return it tomorrow with a small bonus, if anyone other than Nick came in and found out what he was doing, he will be dead meat.

Wes took out the paper containing the message Nick asked him to write. Wes sighed,'That idiot had better know what he is doing...' he thought.

He opened the bible and using a red ink pen, began to mark letters at random. After 15 minutes, he rechecked the message to make sure he made no mistakes:

'Find Nick Stokes and make sure he dies this time,'

Wes shut the bible and carried on with his own case. If his calculations were right, the masked phantom will check this bible tomorrow. As he went out of the conference room, Wes was still unable to shake off the feeling that Nick is doing something extremly stupid.

Unbeknownst to him, the little piece of paper containing the message Wes had written was still on the table.  
TBC

Uh-oh. Wes is in for it! What's going to happen to Nick? How's Sara? All will be revealed next chapter. Review as always!


	21. Time Out

Disclaimer: Nothing's mine, never will be... 

Thank's for the reviews! Hehe, idiot, I may be, nasty cliffhanger writer? DEFINATELY!! Muahaha, don't you just love this chapter's ending???

Oh, and for the PRTF readers, Conrad Ecklie in the last few chapters is the 'night' shift supervisor, and the sheriff's full name is Sheriff Brian Mobley.

Chapter 20: Time Out

Gil Grissom had his headphones on, listening to his favourite musical pieces. It was the start of the shift, everyone else wasn't here yet. Grissom was just taking this time to relax.

Suddenly, he was disturbed when his cell phone started vibrating in his pocket. Sighing, he sopped the disk and fished out his cell phone.

The ID read, 'Sheriff', Grissom frowned, now what?

He put on a fake cheery voice and said,"Good morning, Sheriff!"

"Gil, I'm calling on an important matter,"

"No wonder. It's only 6 a.m. What's up?"

Sheriff Mobley cleared his throat and said,"You should know, a traffic officer has spoken to me. Last night, he caught one of your CSI's drinking and driving, with a very high alchohol level. Not to mention, this is not the first time, is it?"

Grissom frowned,"What? Who?" dreading the answer.

"Sara Sidle. What happened, Gil? This will ruin the image of cops all around!"

"For one thing, we aren't cops, Brian, for another, Sara is going through a hard time now. She..."

"I don't care. In my opinion, she should be fired. Suspended at the very least! This is not the first time she was caught, you remember that, don't you?"

"Brian, I'm sure Sara has an excuse for this. I'll talk to her,"

"You had better. Call me back. Goodbye,"

Grissom hung up, sighing.

* * *

Sara slipped into the empty break room. Her head was really aching badly. She had used the back door to get in so she won't have to pass Grissom's office. He probably knew about last night already.

Sara didn't mean to drink so much but she really needed to drown her sorrows. She slumped down onto a chair and covered her eyes with one hand.

Her other hand brushed against a piece of paper. Curious, she picked it up and read, 'Find Nick Stokes and make sure he dies,'

"What?!" she blurted.

She knew immediately that someone had just put that message in the bible, wanting their suspect to see it. 'How could they put Nick in danger like that?' she thought.

'Whose writing is this?' Yup, not Nick's. Sara knew only one person in the entire crimelab that looped his 'k's like that, a certain dirty-blond haired, British guy...

"Hey, Sara. Early today too?"

Before Wes knew it, Sara had him flat against the wall,

"WHY???!!!'"

"Why what?" asked the surprised Wes.

Sara waved the note in front of him. Wes said, "Oh, that! So that's where it went... well,,, uh, you see... uh..."

"SAY IT!!"

"Woah, Sara... you've been drinking? You're breath..." muttered Wes, wrinkling his nose.

"DON"T CHANGE THE SUBJECT! EXPLAIN!"

"It was Nick's idea! Not mine! Honest!"

"Really?"

"Scout's honour! He wanted to catch the guy so he made me write that message in the bible!"

Sara looosened her grip on Wes and asked,"Where is Nick now?"

"Dunno. Er... funny thing... I haven't seen him since yesterday, when our suspect saw the message.... so, uh..."

"Nick could be attackedright now?!"

* * *

Nick parked his car in the basement parking lot of a shopping complex. The building was only a few blocks away from the Crime Lab so Nick prefered to park here and walk over.

The car park was quite empty since the complex wasn't opened yet. Nick walked towards the stairs, wondering whether the masked phantom got the message or not. It's been two days since nick had made Wes add that message.

Suddenly, a whirring sound caught Nick's attention.

He turned around, trying to locate the source of that robotic whirring. He caught sight of a samll robotic toy, wound up and whirring away.

Nick recognized it, it was the same modal as the one Michael had begged him to buy. Nick bent down to pick it up, memories of his beloved son flowing back.

That's when his head was strucked with a heavy object again, for the upteenth time this month.

Nick fell to the floor, fighting the urge to black out. So the masked phantoom got the message.

Nick stared up at the man who killed his son with mounting anger. The yellow and black mask glared back, with a brand new hat, bat in hand, the guy seemed almost sneering.

He did not attack again, he waited for Nick to get up before laying a punchon Nick's face.

Nose bleeding, Nick pulled out his gun. But the masked man was too fast, in a flash, he wrenched the gun out of Nick's hand, shoving Nick againt a pillar.

The masked man held the gun right in front of Nick's face. Nick could almost see the bullet in the chamber, ready to kill.

He could also see the mechanical toy on the floor, still whirring away. not a single car entered the lot.

Nick knew it, this was the end, he could only think of two words, 'Sorry, Michael,'.

The masked man's gloved finger slowly moved closer and closer to the trigger, the guy was enjoying the moment.

Nick shut his eyes, waiting for the pain come. This was it, he was as good as dead...

TBC


	22. Forgiving, or Not?

Disclaimer: Nothing's mine. Never will be.

Notes: Space-Case7029, u psychic or sumthing? That last review... exactly what I'm doin'...lol.

NO! NONO!Nobody clicks on the reviews button to see what Space-Case wrote!! I'm not spoiling this!

Chapter 21: Forgiving, or Not?

Nick shut his eyes, waiting for the pain to seep through. This was it, he was as good as dead.

"Leave him alone!" a voice cried out.

Almost immediately, the gun left Nick's forehead. The guy had let go of Nick completely. Nick reopened his eyes, the masked man was on the floor, unconcious.

Beside him, lay a high-heeled shoe, a familiar one. He looked up, Sara was running to him, one shoe less. Nick could feel a surge of guilt go through him. Here was the woman who he ignored for so long, saving his life.

Sara came up to Nick, "Not the most effective, but it works. Nick, are you ok?"

Nick nodded numbly,"Sara... I..."

"Don't talk. Those cuts look nasty. We better get to the hospital," helping Nick up.

Nick shook his head,"Sara, I've been a total fool. I am so sorry. I shouldn't have..."

"It's ok..." she replied casually.

Nick insisted,"But really, you didn't deserve the threatment I gave you. I am really sorry," and pulled her into a deep hug.

Sara smiled, Nick's back with her, that's all that matters.

Suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, she saw the masked man get up, and aim Nick's gun at Nick's back.

Sara yelled,"Look out!!!" and she made her way in front of Nick, facing the suspect head on.

Nick had barely turned around when he heard one loud gun shot. The guy had hit Sara in the chest.

Nick yelled,"NOOOO!!!" and caught Sara before she hit the ground. He lowered her carefully. Sara was bleeding and shaking badly, Nick was in tears.

The masked man was advancing onto Nick. Nick didn't budge, he did not mind getting killed now... Sara was holding his hand tightly, not wanting to let go. She was turing deathly pale.

That's when they heard three gun shots, one after another. Nick winced, waiting for the bullets to kill him, but it did not.

He stared back at the masked man, confused. The hand holding the gun went limp and his body fell fowards, to reveal Jen, gun at the ready and Wes right behind her.

It was Jen's gun Nick heard firing. Nick heaved a sigh of relief.

Jen smirked at Wes,"Told you I could hit the head,"

Wes smirked in return,"Yeah... not bad for one who can't even hit cardboard modals with a toy gun..."

Jen tried hard to scowl but ended up smiling. The two of them hadn't noticed Sara lying there.

Nick yelled,"Guys! Sara's been shot!"

The couple's expressions turned serious as they ran to Nick and Sara. Wes pulled out his cell phone and begun calling the ambulance.

Five painful minutes later, the ambulance arrived. Sara's hand never left Nick's.

As Sara was loaded up onto the stretcher, Nick muttered,"Don't leave me Sara, don't leave me,"

Sara nodded weakly in reply.

Soon at the hospital, Sara was immediately taken to the emergency room for surgery. Nick, Wes and Jen were waiting outside anxiously.

About fifteen minutes later, Grissom, Catherine and Warrick arrived at the hospital,"We got here as soon as we could," said Catherine.

Nick said,"What? But aren't you guys suppose to be on the job now?"

Grissom said,"That can wait. I had night shift take over for a while,"

A little later, Mrs Stokes arrived too, with Emily, "Daddy! What happened to mommy?" running into her father's arms.

Nick hugged her,"Your mother had an accident, but she'll be alright. She'll be aright,"

"Good... I don't want the same thing that happened to Michael to happen to mommy,"

The others exchanged sad glances.

After what seemed like an eternity, a doctor went into the waiting room. Everyone rushed anxiously to him.

The doctor was smiling,"You'll be glad to know we managed to remove the bullet. A couple of weeks or so of rest here and she'll be fine. She's strong, not many people survive this kind of thing,"

With that, the doctor went off. Relieved smiles and hugs were exchanged all arond.

Sara was taken to one of the wards after that. Slowly, but surely recovering. Everyone visited constantly, bringing 'get well' gifts along.

Catherine's daughter, Lindsey had given Sara an adorable teddy bear while Emily had a new home-made card every visit. So by the time Sara was about to go back home, she had dozens of different homemade cards, including one where Emily had drawn a picture of the entire dayshift crime lab employees, with Greg Sanders spikey hair exaggerated to five times the 'spike'.

All the while, Nick never left her side.

One the day Sara was discharged from the hospital, Nick was there to help her back. The others had gone to court on Brian Mc Cormick's case.

The masked man's name turned out to be Micah Stevens, an old childhood friend of Mc Cormick's.

Sara said,"I'm so glad to be finally going home! Back to the job I love! It's been boring just staying at the hospital,"

Nick grinned,"What? You love your job more than me? Gee..."

Sara laughed,"Of course not!" running over to kiss him. "You are moving back in, right?"

Nick smiled,"Of course! Someone has got to make sure you don't drink anymore, right?"

"Well, it's because of you I started in the first place!" said Sara. They both laughed.

Suddenly, Nick's cell phone rang,"Hello?"

After a moment, Nick said,"That's great... what do you mean night shift?!!!?"

Sara raised her eyebrows.

"Alright, thanks Wes," he punched the END button. "That was Wes. We won the case.Brian Mc Cormick has been given the death sentence, lethal injection,"

Sara nodded, relieved the nightmare was finally over, "Night shift?" she asked.

Nick sighed,"Conrad Ecklie asked for approval from Sheriff Mobley, to switch his squad to dayshift, and vice versa. Sheriff approved,"

"What?!"

"We are starting night shift next week,"

"This is ridiculous! How are we suppose to turn nocturnal all of a sudden??"

Nick said,"Well, the sheriff approved of the switch. CSI's, detectives, lab tech's, coroners and all. Even Brass and Grissom are relunctant, but they can't do anything,"

"Geez. I hate Ecklie..."

"Don't we all?" replied Nick good-naturedly, 'Let's go home,"

Sara smiled,"Home, yeah. I like that..."

TBC

Done? Not yet! One more! Something's missing! hehe, review! 


	23. Epilogue

Disclaimer: Nothing's mine... never will be. 

Notes: Thanks for the reviews guys! You ROCK!

Oh, no CSI know's about Jen's origin, like I said earlier, I'm gonna write a story about it, explaining. Kinda backwords, huh? Oh, well... Let's just say Mr. Collins lives in Vegas as well.

Ahh... journey's end...

Epilogue

**One week from the wedding, 3 months after Brian Mc Cormick's execution:**

Jen and Wes were spending a Sunday night watching the movie 'Pirates of the Carribean' at Wes' apartment.

Jen said,"Oh, Orlando Bloom is so cute, isn't he, Wes?"

"What? Cuter than me Jen?" he asked smiling, baiting an ego boost.

Jen wasn't going to give it to him,"As a matter of fact, yes! Much cuter!"

Wes let out a mocking moan,"Ouch! That hurt. Hey, you can only see Orlando Bloom on TV, I'm here all the time!"

Jen replied,"Yeah... unfortunately," laughing.

Wes said,"Oh yeah? Yeah?" as he bent down to tickle her. Jen burst out laughing uncontrollably, "Stop it, Wes!!" she gasped.

Wes replied,"Or what, detective?"

Suddenly the door bell rang. Wes sighed while Jen grinned.

Wes went over to open the door,"SURPRISE!!!"

Jen looked up, receiving the shock of her life. Trip, Lucas, Katie and _Nadirah_ stood at the doorway, all in civillian's clothes.

Wes said, extreamly surprised,"Wha..."

Trip said,"Hey, you gonna leave us out here? We didn't get lost on the Strip looking for your home to stand out at the doorway, y'know? Let us in!"

Wes stepped aside and Katie barelled into Jen,"JEN!! We miss you guys sooooo much!"

Jen could only mutter weakly,"How? Wha?"

Lucas said,"C'mon, you think we'll miss your wedding? We dug into Time Force records for hours, just to find some information..." surprisingly, he had his arm around Nadirah.

Lucas caught Jen's gaze and said,"Oh, Nadirah joined Time Force after serving community service, we sorta just 'clicked'," Nadirah beamed.

Jen just had an idea,"Looks like I found my bride's maid," looking at Katie.

Katie said,"Yippee!!"

Wes looked at Trip and Lucas,"I think my problem's solved,"

**Wedding day**:

"This is injustice," muttered Greg.

Warrick grinned,"At least we didn't lose any money, right?"

A guy with green hair introduced as Trip Regis stood proudly behind Wes, as best man. Lucas wanted to spend more time with Nadirah instead.

For once, Wes didn't mind being in a tuxedo. The organ music started playing, and in strolled Emily and Lindsey, both given the job as flower girls.

Next came Mr Collins, acting as the bride's father, arm linked with Jen. She was looking absolutely beautiful in her wedding gown, Wes couldn't help smiling.

This is the happiest day of her life, Jen Scotts felt really nervous. But all her nervousness melted away when she saw Wes looking so good in his tux, up front.

Jen cast a glance at Mr Collins, who smiled gently in return.

Jen passed her fellow detectives, Capt. Brass, Sgt. Ray O'Riley, Det. Sam Vega and Det. Erin Conroy, all smiling at her.

A few rows down were the now night shift CSI's and technicians. Grissom, Catherine, Warrick, Nick and Sara, Greg, Archie, Bobby and a few others. Sara, Nick and Catherine kept on looking at their daughter's proudly.

Then there was Lucas and Nadirah, Eric and is that a girl with him? Wow. Katoie was faithfully behind Jen.

Jen barely heard what the priest had said. She even barely heard herself announcing,"I do,".

She was just lost in Wes' blue-green eyes as he slipped on the diamond ring on her fourth finger.

'I used to hope that would be Aex standing in front of me. Instead, it is Wes, and I'm much happier. This is one decision I'll never regret,' she thought.

Finally, the priest announced,"You may kiss the bride,"

Jen saw Wes mouth the words,"I love you," before their lips met...

LET'S PARTY!! (A/N: No one said that in particular...)

**Song:It's Alright, by S Club 7. No... I don't own that either**.

Balloons, streamers and confetti decorated the gigantic hall in the Collins mansion. This was a stand-up party, everyone socialising with champaign filled glasses and fingerfood.

Jen and Wes stood near the entrance, welcoming guests, introducing their Time Force team mates with their colleagues.

_So tell me how you feel? Tell me what is going on?  
Cos' when all hope is gone,  
You need a friend..._

Greag came up,"Wes, I am going to kill you! Then we'll see how you process your own crime scene!" Wes laughed,"Hey, you didn't lose any money, did ya?"

"Well, I didn't win any ei... wow," he whistled,"Wanna know me better, hottie?" he said, spotting Nadirah.

Wes said,"Nadirah, meet our resident lab rat, Greg Sanders, Greg, meet Lucas,"

"Lucas who?" asked Greg, puzzled.

Lucas came from behind,"Lucas, me! Nadirah's boyfriend..."

Greg muttered,"Oh... I think I hear my grandfather calling..." and he scampered off. Everyone else started laughing.

_I'll be there for you,  
I'll be there to help you through,  
Take you to another place,  
Cos' you got a friend._

When you're feeling low, Got nowhere to go,  
You gotta pull yourself together....

"Eric! Hey there, Sherlock!" Wes greeted a tall guy with short black hair and serious Asian face.

Eric smirked, shaking Wes' hand, then Jen's,"Hi, Einstien, Jen. Congrats,"

"Thanks," replied Jen.

A girl with long blonde hair was with him. Eric cleared his throat,"Uh guys, I'll like you to meet Taylor, my girlfriend,"

Wes' eyebrows seemed to shoot sky high in less than a second. Jen asked,"How did you guys meet?"

It was Taylor who answered,"He caught me speeding. I yelled at him. He yelled back. We ended up dating," Everyone laughed.

_It's alright, anything you wanna, It's alright, leaving all your troubles far behind, Don't let anybody tell you how to live your life,  
It's alright, no matter what you're feeling, It's alright, ya better start believing in yourself, Don't let anybody tell you how to live your life,  
Cos' it's alright..._

Warrick tapped Wes' shoulder and pulled him into a small corner,"Psst, you know that girl beside Jen now?"

Wes looked around for Jen, "Yeah... Katie. Why?"

"Yeah! Introduce me! She's damn fine.."

_Ya gotta understand now,  
Tomorrow brings a brighter day, The memories will fade away,  
And the sun will shine On you._

_So many friends you've yet to make,  
So many hearts you've yet to break,  
So much love you've gotta give,  
Your whole life's still left to live..._

Grissom came over,"Hey, seen Nick and Sara?"

Wes said,"Uh... no, they must be late,"

"Uncle Wes, Aunt Jen!"

Jen said,"Hey, Linds!" The eleven-year-old smiled and said shyly,"Congratulations,"

"Why, thank you!" said Jen, shaking her hand.

Catherine came over,"There you are Lindsey. Hey, I'm getting worried. Nick and Sara aren't answering my calls. You don't think they're fighting again?"

Lucas joined in with Nadirah,"Hey guys, who's that guy with Katie?"

Everyone smirked. Katie and Warrick are getting on well.

_Spread your wings and fly,  
Kiss the pain goodbye,  
Let the tears run dry,  
Ya gotta get yourself together._

"Aunty Jen! Uncle Wes! Uncle Grissom! Aunt Cath!" Emily jumped into Wes' arms, not knowing what to say to Trip, Lucas and Nadirah.

"Emily, about time..." said Wes.

Nick and Sara came up, holding hands.

Nick said,"Sorry we're late guys. Uh... Sara had to stop by the hospital,"

The others, concerned, asked,"What? Why?"

Nick looked at Sara,"Tell em',"

Sara shook her head,"You tell them," Nick grinned,"Nah..."

It was Emily who spoke up,"I'm gonna have a new baby brother! Or maybe sister..." she added shrugging.

Everyone turned to Sara, who said,"Yeah... I'm pregnant,"

Wes put an arm around Jen,"All's well, end's well,"

Jen could only grin in agreement.

_It's alright, anything you wanna, It's alright, leaving all your troubles far behind, Don't let anybody tell you how to live your life,  
It's alright, no matter what you're feeling, It's alright, ya better start believing in yourself, Don't let anybody tell you how to live your life,  
Cos' it's alright..._

The END

Hope you guys liked that. Thanks alot for reading!

I have another story coming up, 100 CSI, with the help from PRTF fans needn't read, well if you want to then you can, but it's a pure CSI fic. Loads of Nicky stuff!

Review as always!


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